Mark Wilson: Workforce inclusion is the bridge between No. 16 and No. 10 economy

Florida is marching toward a No. 10 global economic ranking, but climbing the remaining rungs will require the business, nonprofit and public sectors to work together.

Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson opened the Future of Florida Forum^[1] recapping the state’s rise over the past half-decade — Florida has a $1.8 trillion economy, is adding 1,000 new residents daily and importing nearly $4 million in new taxable income every hour.

“If Florida was a stock, I would be buying as much of it as I could,” Wilson said. “If Florida was a mutual fund, would your community be in that mutual fund?”

Wilson used the analogy to illustrate uneven growth across the state. What might be a blue-chip performer in one region could be a penny stock in another. While Orange County, for example, has an economy that would trump all but 10 U.S. states, the same can’t be said about Hardee — not that small-county economies aren’t growing.

“All 67 counties, essentially, are going to be growing between now and 2030 — but it’s not a ubiquitous situation. We have about 40% of the growth in five counties, and almost 60% of the growth in 10 counties,” Wilson said. “

As the Legislature and the Governor wrestle with where to put dollars, a $50 million investment in the middle of rural Florida might change that region forever, while a $50 million investment in Miami might just fix an intersection. Both are vital — but we need to understand that not everywhere will see the same outcome.”

Buckets of cash in the budget won’t clear every roadblock, though. Among the major problems is a mismatch between Florida’s open jobs and its talent pool, though there are more than enough residents who, with proper training — or simply a job interview — could keep Florida’s economic momentum rolling.

“Labor participation in Florida is about 5 points below the national average, and that’s a challenge for us — because we want Florida to be the best place in the world for people who want to work,” Wilson said.

“Here’s the challenge: We’ve got 67,000 youth between ages 16 and 24 who are not working and not in school. We need them in the workforce. We need them on a pathway to work. … We’ve got almost 2 million adults without a GED. We can fix that. We can get them their GEDs, get them more education, and connect them with great jobs. We need them in the workforce.”

Beyond diplomas, workforce participation is being hampered by child care’s relative inaccessibility and unaffordability for Florida families — parents who quit their jobs to take care of their young children are a significant bloc.

“They’re not working remotely. They literally left the workforce,” Wilson said.

The Chamber has consistently highlighted childcare options as integral to private sector growth. An early 2024 report^[2], Untapped Potential in FL, found the state loses $5.4 billion in economic activity a year due to working parents having to be away from their jobs to care for children under the age of 6. And child care access tightly correlates with another of the Chamber’s goals: lowering childhood poverty.

“We have over 700,000 kids in poverty in our state. Oftentimes, one or both of their parents needs training and a job — they need an employer like you who’s simply willing to interview them,” Wilson said, highlighting the Florida Chamber’s Prosperity Initiative^[3].

“Childhood poverty, breaking the cycle of generational poverty, keeping people safe, mental health — those aren’t separate conversations. Those are part of the same conversation about Florida’s future.”