Florida's Space Coast Leads Nation in Living-Wage Jobs; West Texas Lags

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Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity

Apr 26, 2023, 12:21 ET

Tech sector continues to drive east Florida jobs and wages

WASHINGTON, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Driven by a booming tech sector and ample affordable housing, the Space Coast of Florida leads the nation in the percentage of workers with living-wage jobs, while two west Texas regions lead the nation in "functional unemployment," with one community approaching 50%, according to an analysis released by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP).

LISEP today released a comprehensive analysis of the True Rate of Unemployment (TRU) by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for 2022, a more in-depth version of its monthly True Rate of Unemployment report. TRU tracks the "functionally unemployed," defined by LISEP as the jobless, plus those seeking, but unable to find, full-time employment paying above the poverty line after adjusting for inflation.

In this year's TRU by MSA report, LISEP found that the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville MSA on Florida's Space Coast had the lowest TRU in the nation for 2022 at 11.1%, dropping 4.3% from 2021. This translates to nearly 90% of the workforce working in living-wage jobs. Contributing to the favorable ranking is one of the fastest growing high-tech sectors in the country, robust construction activity, and a more affordable housing rental market.

Other MSAs ranking in the top ten for lowest functional unemployment include Bakersfield, CA (14%); Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton PA-NJ (15.3%); Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA (15.5%); San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (16.1%); Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD (16.8%); Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (17.4%); Charleston-North Charleston, SC (17.6%); Raleigh, NC (17.7%); and Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN (17.9%). Nationally, the TRU was 22.9% for the month of February 2023.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, the south Texas McAllen-Edinburg-Mission MSA had the highest percentage of workers unable to find a living-wage job among the most populous 100 MSAs at 46.8%, which is a 3.5% increase over the 2021 rate. While the region has seen growth in the labor force, employment gains have been concentrated in low-paying and less stable sectors, such as leisure and hospitality (11.1% increase), while more stable sectors, such as manufacturing, lost 1.4% of its workforce. This leaves a large portion of the economy reliant on low-paying business clusters, such as food and beverage production and retail.

Similarly, another west Texas region – the El Paso MSA – ranked among the highest for functional unemployment, with the second highest TRU among the most populous 100 MSAs at 31.7%. But this is a significant improvement over the 2021 rate, dropping 6.3%. This improvement can be attributed in part to its large manufacturing hub, which grew at a 4% clip last year.

Other MSAs among the 100 most populous with the highest TRU are Dayton, OH (31.5%); Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA (29.7%); Greensboro-High Point, NC (29.4%); Rochester, NY (28.3%); New Orleans-Metairie, LA (28.1%); Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, NY (28%); Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL (27.5%); and Madison, WI (27.1%).

"The huge disparity among these regional statistics – where 90 percent of workers are in living wage jobs in one region, and another where nearly half are functionally unemployed – tells a strong, compelling story," said LISEP Chairman Gene Ludwig. "We are not a single, national economy where a one-size-fits-all economic policy will have uniform, positive results. It is important for policymakers to be aware of these disparities, and take a deeper dive into these data to understand what is working – and perhaps more importantly, what is not – when making decisions that may disproportionately impact one region over another."

About TRU
LISEP issued the white paper "Measuring Better: Development of 'True Rate of Unemployment' Data as the Basis for Social and Economic Policy'' upon announcing the new statistical measure in October 2020. The paper and methodology can be viewed here. LISEP issues TRU one to two weeks following the release of the BLS unemployment report, which occurs on the first Friday of each month. The TRU rate and supporting data are available on the LISEP website at https://www.lisep.org/tru.

About LISEP
The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity (LISEP) was created in 2019 by Ludwig and his wife, Dr. Carol Ludwig. The mission of LISEP is to improve the economic well-being of middle- and lower-income Americans through research and education. LISEP's original economic research includes new indicators for unemployment, earnings, and cost of living. These metrics aim to provide policymakers and the public with a more transparent view of the economic situation of all Americans, particularly low- and middle-income households, compared with misleading headline statistics.

About Gene Ludwig
In addition to his role as LISEP chair, Gene Ludwig is a managing partner of Canapi LLC, a financial technology venture fund. He is the founder and CEO of Ludwig Advisors, which counsels financial firms on critical matters. Ludwig is also the founder of the Promontory family of companies. He is the former vice chairman and senior control officer of Bankers Trust New York Corp. and served as the U.S. Comptroller of the Currency from 1993 to 1998. He is also author of the book The Vanishing American Dream, which investigates the economic challenges facing low- and middle-income Americans. On Twitter: @geneludwig.

SOURCE Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity