What's on Floridians' minds? Jobs and economy

In your opinion, what is the most important issue facing the state of Florida?

So many potential answers, so little space. But the real answer's not health care, property taxes or even — as some residents insisted last year — "water/drainage" issues.

With the Tampa Bay area suffering a 7.4 percent unemployment rate that's rising as you read this, it seems logical that most Floridians' actual answer to the question above is "economy and jobs."

Last year, "economic worry" didn't even rank among Floridians' top five concerns. Now a survey finds folks in the state care about little else.

A majority of 1,200 Florida adults polled cited "economy and jobs" as the No. 1 or No. 2 issue in the latest Sunshine State Survey conducted on behalf of Leadership Florida, a statewide networking program run by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Initial details unveiled Monday caught even survey pollsters Mason-Dixon Polling & Research off-guard.

Fifty-six percent polled said "economy and jobs" was the most important issue, and 11 percent more cited it as the No. 2 issue. Combined, that's 67 percent of Floridians calling the economy and jobs one of the top two issues confronting the state.

Such a spike in angst over the economy and jobs in one year may be unprecedented.

"This is the first time I have seen something move this high this fast in 25 years of polling at the state level," said Mason-Dixon pollster Brad Coker.

Only catastrophic events, like the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, typically catapult an issue from sixth among concerns to a dominating No. 1.

This year, No. 1 "economy and jobs" was nearly 50 percentage points above the No. 2 worries — "health care" and "taxes/government spending" — tied at 8 percent.

The poll found personal debt the top type of economic worry, while concern over property taxes and gas prices fell from 2007's survey. "Utility bills" — electricity prices — also emerged for the first time in the survey's three-year history as a rising financial worry.

Age and race mattered. Sixty-six percent of adults younger than 50 cited "economy and jobs" as the No. 1 concern. So did 86 percent of blacks.

This marks the third year of the annual "Sunshine State Survey." Its in-depth look at our state's attitudes will be released in daily doses for the remainder of this week.

With economic concerns so prominent, other perennial worries this year paled by comparison. Health care? Flat. Taxes and spending? Down. Public education and growth management? Down.

The survey also hinted at a silver lining for businesses normally confronted by Florida interests opposing heavy growth and congestion.

Faced with more and more job losses, Floridians now are more likely to support incentives for businesses to expand or relocate here, the survey found. Support for incentives rose to 63 percent, up 8 points since last year. Opposition to business incentives dropped to 21 percent from 32 percent last year.

"People say do not bring people here, but now Floridians are more interested in economic development," said USF professor Susan MacManus, the survey's academic adviser. "It's a shot in the arm for business."

In this economy, businesses should grab any inoculations they can get.

Robert Trigaux can be reached at trigaux@sptimes.com.