F lorida N ews S ummaries
do away with strict mask mandates as the state continues to battle through high hospitalization rates.
• School boards in Broward and Alachua counties received a warning from the State Board of Education giving them 48 hours to walk back their decisions to require masks for all students, only exempting those with a doctor’s note. Broward County has the second-largest school district in the state.
• Florida on Friday surpassed 3 million total COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a weekly report from the state’s health department. It also reported 1,486 new deaths in a week, significantly raising the seven-day average of reported deaths per day from 153 to 212 over the past week.
Source: AP News, August 20, 2021
Ask for COVID Vaccine Proof, Face a $5,000 Fine in Florida
• F lorida will start issuing $5,000 fines to businesses, schools and government agencies that require people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination.
• Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill earlier this year that banned vaccine passports. The fines will start Sept. 16 if people are asked to show proof of a vaccine.
• COVID-19 infections in Florida have skyrocketed over the summer as the state has been one of the hardest hit areas of the U.S. from the delta variant.
Source: US News , September 1, 2021
Florida’s minimum wage increases to $10 on Thursday
• Florida’s minimum wage is increasing to $10 an hour starting Thursday, Sept. 30. This comes as the state gradually works toward a $15 minimum wage over the course of six years.
• A supermajority of Florida voters approved the amendment to the Florida Constitution last November that will raise Florida’s minimum wage from $8.56 an hour to $15 an hour by 2026. • After the initial increase Thursday, the minimum wage will increase by a dollar each Sept. 30 until 24
Florida & Metro Forecast / Fall 2021
it reaches the $15 mark on Sept. 30, 2026.
Source: WTXL, September 30, 2021
Governor Ron DeSantis Announces Over $9 Million in Awards to City of Winter Haven for Road Improvements at the Intermodal Logistics Centers
• Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced more than $9 million in awards to the City of Winter Haven for road improvements at the Intermodal Logistics Center. • The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund, administered through the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO), is providing $6.4 million, with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) providing an additional $3 million, for road construction to improve access to over 1,200 acres of industrial land, attract new businesses and generate nearly 5,000 jobs over the next several years. • The Florida Job Growth Grant Fund is an economic development program designed to promote public infrastructure and workforce training across the state.
Source: Enterprise Florida, October 12, 2021
Florida jobless rate dips as return to work remains sluggish
• While slightly above the national mark, Florida’s unemployment rate inched down to 4.9 percent in September as workers appear to have become more selective about jobs.
• The state Department of Economic Opportunity on Friday estimated the state’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate was down from 5.0 percent in August. The rate was down 2.3 percentage points from September 2020, when the state was completing its reopening after COVID-19 pandemic closings that began in March 2020. • The new rate, which measured employment in mid-September, represented 517,000 Floridians out of work from a labor force of 10.59 million. The number of unemployed people was down 13,000 while the size of the labor force had grown by 50,000.
Source: Tampa Bay Times, October 22, 2021
