Economic Numbers Show Recession Left Deep Impact In S. Fla.
MIAMI (CBSMiami/Herald) – The Great Recession, according to economists, technically ended a few years ago. But, based on jobless numbers and poverty, South Florida has a long way to go to ever recover from the economic downturn that devastated the nation.
According to CBS4 news partner the Miami Herald, almost one in four families in Miami-Dade County were below the poverty line in 2010. The 24.9 percent below poverty was a stark rise from 2008 when the number was still high at 17.5 percent.
The numbers were not quite as bad in Broward County, but still well above an acceptable level. In 2008, 11.5 percent of families with children were below the poverty level, but in 2012, the number had jumped to 16.5 percent.
Compare those numbers to the staggering increase in rent in South Florida, plus stock market hitting record highs and the ongoing gap between the recovery for some and the non-recovery for the working poor becomes evident.
According to the Herald, the typical worker in Miami-Dade County saw earning drop seven percent from 2008 to 2013, from $27,202 to $25,400. For a family to be considered in poverty, they must make less than $22,000. Broward County saw a similar seven percent drop in earnings to $30,239.
Not surprisingly, food stamp rolls have increased from six percent of all Broward households in 2008 to 12 percent last year, according to the Herald. The Herald's report also found that food stamp usage in Miami-Dade County rose from 14 percent in 2008 to 26 percent in Miami-Dade County in 2012.
Those numbers may change completely under a new bill passed by the GOP-led House of Representatives that could cut up to 4 million people off food stamps.
When combined with the ongoing jobless problem in Miami-Dade County and the long-term unemployment problem, and the recovery that some parts of the country are seeing remains in the distance for much of South Florida.
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