Writer: Chérie Lynn Canada
2 min read February 2024 — While consumer sentiment in the Sunshine State kicked off 2024 at its highest level in two years, increasing 3.3 points to 72.8 in January, Florida still lags behind the national average as inflation remains higher in markets such as Tampa Bay and Miami.
Despite prices relatively cooling nationwide, Tampa Bay ranks among the top major U.S. metro areas in terms of Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases, rising 5.2% year-over-year as persistent demand, a limited housing supply, and global supply chain disruptions elevate housing and energy costs. The region’s inflation rate is nearly 2% higher than the national rate of 3.4%.
“While it might be a good thing that consumer confidence is on the rise, we still have higher than normal inflation,” said Michael Snipes, an economics instructor at the University of South Florida, as cited by WUSF. “And even here in Tampa Bay, we’ve led the nation in inflation for the past three years.”
As the Federal Reserve has expressed plans to keep interest rates at 5.25% to 5.50% in the first half of 2024, with the aim to ultimately achieve its inflation rate goal of 2% in 2026, the higher prices in Tampa Bay are expected to remain in the short-term due to population growth and other economic factors that drive consumer spending.
The region has also become a hot market for job opportunities, with WalletHub ranking Tampa the No. 2 city in the U.S. for jobs in 2024, falling behind Scottsdale and narrowly surpassing Salt Lake City. The report cites a high number of job opportunities within companies rated highly on Glassdoor relative to labor force size in addition to strong job security rates.
According to the Capital Analytics Business Sentiment Survey (CABSS) for southern markets in 2Q23, three in four Tampa Bay-based decision makers were looking to hire more pople at their company or organization within the next six months.
READ MORE: Southern business sentiment closes out 2023 on a higher note
