When considering an applicant for a job, one of the first things employers do is run a background check. These can be as informal as a Google search or as formal as hiring a private screening company, but the goal is the same—to figure out whether or not an applicant could be a risk to the employer. The typical results of these investigations are arrest records, but they usually don’t tell the full story.
After a debilitating recession from 2007 to 2009 that cost thousands of people their jobs, Florida is again among the national leaders in job creation at the halfway mark of 2016, according to the latest Economic Commentary by Florida TaxWatch.
Florida’s unemployment rate is down almost half from the peak of 11.1 percent during the Great Recession. While the state’s current unemployment rate of 5 percent is good news, the number doesn’t tell the whole story. An underlying factor that determines whether the job market is truly positive is the labor force participation rate (LFPR). The LFPR is the percentage of able-bodied adults aged 16 and over who are either employed or looking for a job. It is considered a more accurate representation of what really is occurring in the job market.
Florida’s elected lawmakers put fewer secret spending projects into the budget in the waning days of this Legislative session, but improvements are still needed to guarantee taxpayers have full openness, transparency and accountability when lawmakers spend their money.
With more than‚Ä? ‚Ĩ100,000‚Ä? ‚Ĩinmates‚Ä? ‚Ĩbehind bars,‚Ä? ‚ĨFlorida’s correctional population is among the largest in the United States. One of the primary causes for the high population is that more than two-thirds of offenders are re-arrested and‚Ä? ‚Ĩmore than one-in-four‚Ä? ‚Ĩreturn to prison within three years of their release.‚Ä? ‚ĨWhen these individuals cycle in and out of state and local facilities,‚Ä? ‚Ĩthey run up an enormous bill that is shouldered by Florida taxpayers.‚Ä? ‚ĨIt costs an average of‚Ä? ‚Ĩnearly‚Ä? ‚Ĩ$19,000‚Ä? ‚Ĩper year to house an inmate‚Ä? – ‚Ĩmore than three times the cost of tuition at the University of Florida.‚Ä?
The Florida Legislature has once again proven its commitment to increasing accountability in state government by ensuring the state’s inspectors general are best equipped to serve the state’s taxpayers as trusted, independent investigators…
This report, the third in a series, outlines options to reform Florida’s class size limits that have cost taxpayers more than $30 billion since voters approved them in a 2002 constitutional amendment.
This month’s Economic Commentary looks at the economic impact of Florida’s orange industry. Florida produces more oranges than any other U.S. state, totaling more than
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