Florida: Exports, Jobs, and Foreign Investment

Exports Support Jobs for Florida's Workers

Export-supported jobs linked to manufacturing account for an estimated 1.8 percent of Florida's total private-sector employment. One-ninth (11.7 percent) of all manufacturing workers in Florida depend on exports for their jobs. (2006 data are the latest available.)

Note: Export-related employment data shown do not include manufacturing and non-manufacturing jobs involved in the export of non-manufactured goods, such as farm products, minerals, and services sold to foreign buyers. Indirect exports exclude imported items. The complete 2006 export-related employment series is available on our Export Related Jobs pages. Additional information on methodology used in the export-related employment series can be found in the U.S. Census Bureau's publication Exports from Manufacturing Establishments: 2006.

Source: State Export-Related Employment Project, International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census.

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Exports Sustain Thousands of Florida Businesses

A total of 30,313 companies exported from Florida locations in 2006. Of those, 28,775 (95 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises, with fewer than 500 employees.

Small and medium-sized firms generated nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of Florida's total exports of merchandise in 2006. This was the highest figure among the 50 states, and far above the U.S average of 29 percent.

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Exporter Database.

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Foreign Investment Creates Jobs in Florida

In 2006, foreign-controlled companies employed 248,000 Florida workers. Major sources of foreign investment in Florida in 2006 included the United Kingdom,the Netherlands, Canada, Germany, and Japan.

Approximately one-sixth of these jobs (16 percent, or 38,600 workers) were in the manufacturing sector in 2006.

In 2006, 9.5 percent of all Florida manufacturing workers (approximately one of every 10 manufacturing workers) were employed by foreign-controlled companies.

Foreign investment in Florida was responsible for 3.5 percent of the state's total private-industry employment in 2006.

Note: All figures exclude employment in banks affiliated with foreign companies.

Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis.

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Florida Depends on World Markets

Florida's export shipments of merchandise in 2008 totaled $54.3 billion, up 87 percent from $29.0 billion in 2004. Florida ranked fifth among the states in terms of total exports in 2008.

The state's largest market in 2008 was Brazil; export shipments of $4.9 billion went to this market. Brazil was followed by Venezuela ($4.1 billion), Canada ($3.8 billion), Mexico ($2.5 billion) and Colombia ($2.4 billion).

The state's leading export category is computers and electronic products, which alone accounted for 24 percent, or $12.8 billion, of Florida's total merchandise exports in 2008. Other top manufactured exports that year were transportation equipment (2008 exports of $9.0 billion), chemical manufactures ($7.7 billion), and machinery manufactures ($6.4 billion).

Source: Revised Origin of Movement State Export Series, Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division.

Caution: The Origin of Movement series allocates exports to states based on transportation origin, i.e., the state from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a state should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement state export figures.

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Florida's Metropolitan Exports

In 2007, the metropolitan area of Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach exported $26.2 billion in merchandise, 63 percent of Florida's total merchandise exports. Other major metropolitan areas in Florida that exported in 2007 included Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater ($5.7 billion), Orlando-Kissimmee ($3.0 billion), Jacksonville ($1.7 billion), Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville ($765 million), Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice ($631 billion), Lakeland ($572 billion), and Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent ($536 billion).

Source: International Trade Administration and Bureau of the Census, Foreign Trade Division: Metropolitan Export Series.

Caution: The Origin of Movement zip-based series allocates exports to metropolitan areas based on transportation origin, i.e., the metropolitan area from which goods began their journey to the port (or other point) of exit from the United States. The transportation origin of exports is not always the same as the location where the goods were produced. Consequently, conclusions about "export production" in a metropolitan area should not be made solely on the basis of the Origin of Movement zip-based export figures.

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