Florida’s economy will grow in 2020, but the state will experience growing pains from a lack of housing and a weak transportation network, according to an economic forecast from the University of Central Florida.
The forecast released in late December from the school’s Institute for Economic Forecasting concluded that Florida’s equivalent of gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services — will grow by 2.8 percent in each of 2020 and 2021, but will slow down to 2.4 percent in 2022.
Labor force growth across the state will average 1.6 percent annually over the next three years, according to the forecast.
It also predicted that Florida’s unemployment rate would drop to 3 percent this year, with strongest job growth coming from professional and business services, construction and leisure and hospitality.
New home construction is expected to increase, but not fast enough to make up for the shortage of single family homes available, according to the forecast which predicts there will be more than 134,000 new houses started this year and more than 135,000 new houses started next year, the forecast said.