FL Population Drops for First Time Since 1946

"Florida's population has declined for the first time in 63 years, state researchers said Monday as they blamed the recession for plunging tax revenues and a steep drop in new residents."

"The decline -- 58,000 people over the past year -- is the first since large numbers of military personnel left the state in 1946 after World War II."

"There have been booms and busts over the time, but this is the first time it has declined," said Stan Smith, director of the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business Research."

"Florida's unemployment rate was 10.6 percent in June, the highest level since 1975. The state has lost 392,800 jobs during the past year, continuing a decline that began in 2007, the Agency for Workforce Innovation said."