Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis released a report on Tuesday highlighting the resiliency of Florida’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report from the state’s Department of Financial Services (DFS), entitled “Florida’s Economic Resilience,” outlines how Florida fared much better economically than other states during the pandemic. Notably, the findings show that anti-lockdown policies promoted by Governor Ron DeSantis strengthened the state’s economy and helped several sectors — like finance, insurance and real estate — weather the COVID-19 storm and outperform the U.S. economy.
“While we had a sense that Governor DeSantis’ willingness to fight back against lockdowns led to more wealth and opportunities in our state – we’ve now have the data to back it up. Following a detailed analysis by my office, it’s clear that the Governor is to be credited with creating a Florida economy that is more resilient,” Patronis said in a press release.
A deeper dive into the report shows that, across all industries, Florida’s economy continued to grow and outpace the U.S. economy. For 2021, Florida’s overall GDP index sat at 157.51, compared to the country’s GDP of 141.48 — a 16.03 GDP index gap.
Using these figures, the study calculated the annual mean (compounded) growth rate. Florida’s compounded growth rate per annum of 5.2 percent was higher than the USA’s 3.9 percent. From these compounded growth rates, the analysis derived a GDP growth of 1.25 percent per annum between Florida and the national economy.
“Even with a pandemic that ravaged global markets, Florida still had certain sectors that never took a hit. In fact, Florida’s economy grew at a 1.25% greater pace than the U.S. economy. This is no coincidence, and I’m proud to make this report available to the public so the rest of the nation can have a roadmap on how to properly manage their economy,” Patronis added.
The report also noted that the growth divergence started in 2015 and has continued since. Additionally, the report found that economic setbacks brought forth by the 2020 pandemic were less severe for the Sunshine State (at -0.9%) than it was for the entire country (-2.2%).
To view the full findings of the report, click here.