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Continuing fears over economic recovery are pushing the issue of jobs and economic  growth to the front of the race for the US Senate. As Mike Vasilinda tells us, all three of the candidates are seeking some sort of tax cuts, some more specific than others.

Kendrick Meek is the Democrats’ conquering hero, getting almost 60 percent of the primary vote. Meeks says his first jobs as U.S. Senator will be to create jobs by working with local governments on needed local construction projects.

“I’m for investment, domestic investment, that will bring about job opportunities, and tax credits,” Meek said.

Independent Charlie Crist told realtors over the weekend that he would extend the 8 thousand dollar tax credit for homebuyers. Realtors love the idea.

“It was enormously successful,” John Seebree with the Florida Realtors’ Association said. “Florida alone had 22 months in a row of increased home sales.”

Republican Marco Rubio says on his web site that he is for tax cuts, but he offers no specifics.

Jobs are the issue today, and will continue to be an issue, though many political observers believe the outcome will hinge on one thing: turnout.

A higher percentage of Republicans than Democrats turned out last Tuesday. But political scientist Lance de Haven Smith says that is unlikely on election day.

“Generally, in the off-year elections, Democrats struggle,” De Haven Smith said. “But this year, they have an African-American and a female at the top of the ticket and that’s going to generate a higher turnout for them.”

But Republicans will control more soft or so called 527 money. That money is often used for negative advertising…and negative advertising more often than not drives down turnout.

For the first time in more than three years Florida added almost three thousand news jobs, but even with the new jobs, the unemployment rate still rose by one tenth of a percent and as Whitney Ray tells us, more than 300 thousand Floridians are clinging to extended unemployment benefits.

Kojo Khayralla is an out-of-work truck driver. He’s been looking for work for the last nine months, with no luck.

“I been getting a few interviews, but mostly, there it ends,” said Kojo.

Starting in April, Florida’s unemployment rate fell for three straight months. But in July it went back up by a tenth of a percent to 11.5 percent. The monthly increase is being overshadowed by the first job increase in Florida since the recession began.

“This is Florida’s first gain in jobs over the year since June of 2007,” said Rebecca Rust, chief economist for AWI.

But we are still at least six years away from reaching normal employment levels. Last month Congress voted to extended unemployment pay for thousands of people who’ve run out of benefits. Those unemployment checks have been circulating for three weeks.

“The Agency for Workforce Innovation has paid more than 300 million dollars to approximately 300 thousand Floridians,” said Robby Cunningham, spokesman for AWI.

But it almost didn’t happen. The state legislature refused to clear a path for Florida to receive the extended pay. But Governor Charlie Crist issued an executive order that got the cash flowing.

The 27-hundred new jobs are a good sign, but economists say the unemployment rate will likely rise a little more before the end of the year… and if you factor in people who have stopped looking for jobs… the unemployment rate is almost 20 percent.

Using emergency power given to him in times of crisis, Governor Charlie Crist accomplished what the state legislature failed to do.

Today Crist signed an executive order allowing 250-thousand jobless Floridians to receive extra weeks of unemployment pay. As Whitney Ray tells us, extended benefits stopped flowing June 2nd, and legislative leaders wanted jobseekers to wait until September for relief.

When state lawmakers met in Special Session Tuesday, they could have paved the way for 250-thousand out-of-work Floridians to receive extra weeks of unemployment pay. Instead they voted to go home; claiming they didn’t know Congress was going to extended benefits, even though the extension was on a fast track to passage.

Cretul: When we begin to think about what could or couldn’t happen in Washington in particular… who knows?

Ray: But it seems like a lot of people knew.

Cretul: Well, apparently they did, but the reality is we’ll deal with it when we come back in special session.”

That special session is tentatively scheduled for September. And if nothing happened until then an estimated 450-thousand people would be without benefits.

Governor Charlie Crist said that’s not good enough. He used emergency executive powers to issue their order Friday doing what the state legislature failed to do… allow Floridians to receive extended benefits. Labor Union, AFL-CIO, began calling on the governor to fix the problem after it became apparent the legislature wasn’t going to budge.

“Those that have fat bank accounts, that can write campaign contribution checks, when they need something the legislature and the Republican leadership in the House is quick to act. When working families need something, who can’t write the big campaign contributions, they are ignored,” said Rich Templin, with the Florida AFL-CIO.

With the extension now in place, the focus is back on the jobs and Florida’s 11.4 percent unemployment rate.

Today’s action by the governor was a last ditch effort. State lawmakers were warned about this problem more than three months ago during regular session, when they decided to put a deadline on how long Florida would participate in the federal Extended Benefits program.

Congress has extended unemployment benefits for more than two million jobseekers in 49 states, but not Florida.

Congress didn’t snub Florida; the state legislature did. During regular session in March, state lawmakers voted to put a June 5th, cutoff date on Floridians receiving extended benefits. The legislature then could have changed the deadline when they met in Special Session Tuesday. But Speaker Larry Cretul says he didn’t know Congress was going to extended benefits, even though the issue has been on a fast track for passage for more than a week.

Cretul: They passed it out after we adjourned.

Whitney: But you saw it coming. You could have done something with that deadline.

Cretul: Well, we could have but when we begin to think about what could and couldn’t happen, in Washington in particular, who knows?

Whitney: It seemed like a lot of people knew.

Cretul: Well maybe they did, but the reality is that we’ll deal with it when we come back in Special session.

That special session is tentatively scheduled for September; meanwhile 200-thousand Floridians have exhausted their benefits and an extra 5-thousand a day falling off the unemployment rolls. Even though Cretul says the Legislature didn’t act because they didn’t know what Congress would do, but it didn’t stop them from balancing the state budget with billions of federal aid that still hasn’t arrived.

Not only did lawmakers not vote on a constitutional ban on offshore oil drilling, they also ignored two dozen other bills filed this week.

One of those bills would allow unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits claim more federal money while they’re looking for work. Soon those extended benefits will begin flowing to unemployed people in every state except Florida. Rich Templin, with labor union AFL-CIO, is furious the legislature took no action.

“I would say it is uncontainable, I would say it’s disgusting, I would say it’s shameful and I would say it shows a complete lack of regard and respect for Florida’s working families that are struggling through this oil crisis, through this economic crisis,” said Templin.

An estimated 5-thousands Floridians a day are running out of unemployment pay.

For the third straight month, Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen. The newest statistic released today put Florida’s jobless rate at 11.4 percent. As Whitney Ray tells us, while the recent up tick is good news, There are still 200-thousand Floridians who are no longer getting unemployment pay.

Congress is expected to vote on extending unemployment benefits Tuesday. That’s the same day Florida’s special session starts… and depending on the temperament of legislative leaders… could be the same day it ends.

Florida’s unemployment rate is starting to trend downward.

“The unemployment rate is 11.4 percent down from the month ago rate of 11.7 percent,” said Rebecca Rust, AWI’s Chief Economist.

This is the third time in as many months the rate has fallen. Still more than a million Floridians remain unemployed. And there still aren’t enough jobs.

“We have over a million unemployed and at least on the internet, we have just over 200-thousand job opening advertised. So we just don’t have enough jobs,” said Rust.

And while the state waits for the job market to rebound, 35-thousand Floridians a week are losing their unemployment benefits.

Congress seems poised to pass another extension. If they do, state law would then have to be changed to allow our unemployed to receive the federal benefits.

But relief for Florida’s jobseekers may get lost in politics Tuesday when state lawmakers come back to Tallahassee for a special session. They’re expected to bang the gavel… then go home to spite the governor.

But labor union AFL-CIO is hoping legislative leaders won’t be so petty. They say fixing the problem will only take a few minutes, but if lawmakers do gavel and go… they’ll be turning their backs on thousands.

“If that gavel comes down adn nothing is done, I think it sends a clear message to our unemployed workers and struggling families; ‘we’re not as concerned about you as we are getting back and campaigning for our seats,’” said Rich Templin, AFL-CIO Spokesman.

The hope for the more than 200-thousand Floridians that have exhausted their benefits is… that people… will be more important than politics in this highly contentious election season.

As early as Monday, the US Senate could vote to extend unemployment benefits to people who are out of cash and can’t find work. There are an estimated 200-thousand Floridians who would qualify. But As Whitney Ray tells us, without a change in state law, the extension wouldn’t help struggling Floridians.

Five thousand Floridians a day are losing their unemployment benefits, while Congress delays voting on an extension. This week the number of Floridians who have exhausted their benefits is expected reach 200-thousand. But there is still hope for jobseekers.

The US Senate could vote as early as Monday to extend benefits once again, giving desperate jobseekers more support while they look for work. But even if federal unemployment benefits are extended it won’t help Florida jobseekers unless the state legislature takes action soon.

That’s because lawmakers wrote a June 5th cut off date into law for jobseekers trying to receive extended benefits. The AFL-CIO, one of the state’s biggest labor unions, wants lawmakers to change or remove the date from the statutes when they come back to Tallahassee next week for a special session on oil drilling.

“Everyone who was on the roles will be put back on those roles. If they’re working they’ll come off those roles, and it’s completely funded by the feds,” said Mike Williams, AFL-CIO President.

John Hall, with the Florida Center for Fiscal and Economic Policy, says if benefits are extended and the state doesn’t fall in line, Florida could lose out on as much as 290 million dollars in economic growth.

“What we are mostly afraid of is it will keep Florida in a recession longer without those benefits,” said Hall.

State Legislative leaders are waiting to see if Congress approves the extension before they make up their minds about including the issue in next weeks special session. Florida’s Unemployment rate is at 11.7 percent. New labor statistics come out tomorrow.

Florida’s unemployment rate dropped to 11.7 from 12 percent, but the number is misleading. Temporary census jobs account for the 20-thousand job spike in the labor statistics. As Whitney Ray tells us, 4,200 news jobs are now available cleaning up the BP oil spill, but those too are temporary.

Good news on the jobs front; kind of.

“The unemployment rate dropped to 11.7 percent from a month ago rate of 12.0 percent,” said Rebecca Rust, AWI Chief Economist.

The state gained 20-thousand jobs in May, all of them temporary Census jobs.

Still this is the second month in a roll the unemployment rate has dropped. And more people working means more people with cash to spend. Sales tax collections were 46 million dollars above estimates last month.

The increase marks the second time in as many months collections have risen, but the gulf oil leak could change the state’s luck.

The hardship the oil is causing coastal residents isn’t showing up in the state’s labor statistics yet… because many of the effected are taking jobs with BP to clean up the mess.

Friday the state announced 42-hundred new clean up jobs; the impacted get first dibs.

“The workforce system is working very closely in the effected areas to make sure that preference is given not only to Floridians, but people from those communities that are affected,” said Robby Cunningham, AWI Spokesman.

The only question, will the impacted be able to get their old jobs back, once the oil is cleaned up. Without the census jobs, the state might have lost as many as 12-thousand jobs for the month of May.

Florida’s unemployment rate has fallen .03 percent to an even 12 percent, which is good news except the labor statistic don’t take into account self-employed fishermen, put out of work by the oil spill. As Whitney Ray tells us, the fishing sector could take a big hit if the federal fishing ban is extended.

For the first time in four years Florida’s unemployment rate is declining, falling from 12.3 to an even 12 percent. But the slight bump may be short lived as the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow; forcing the federal government to expand its fishing ban.

Self-employed fishermen aren’t counted in the state’s labor statistics, because they’re not eligible for unemployment benefits. So if oystermen like Ricky Banks are forced out of their life’s work, they’ll have to turn to BP for a pay check.

“I make between 160 to 200 dollars a day and if they can pay me what I’ve been making until I am able to go back in the water then I think that’s what they should do,” said Banks.

But it’s not just fishermen, seafood distributors and restaurants may also feel the impact. The Florida Department of Agriculture says the impact of the oil on the fishing industry could reach the billion dollar mark.

“We are talking about a half billion dollar industry on the gulf side and probably something comparable on the Atlantic,” said Terry McElroy, a spokesman with the Department of Agriculture.

Many out of work fishermen are turning back to the company that put their industry in limbo. BP is hiring fishing captains to deploy boom and assist with clean up efforts.

The labor statistic to be released next month should paint a better picture of how the fishing and tourism industry are impacted by the spill. There are more than 11-thousand commercial fishing licenses in Florida. The Agency for Workforce Innovation is planning a survey to see how license holders are impacted by the spill.

More than one hundred thousand Floridians who are running out of unemployment benefits will receive and extra 20 weeks of help. Governor Charlie Crist signed legislation extending the enrollment window for the latest federal extension of unemployment pay. The new law allows the state to pull down an extra 128 million federal stimulus dollars for jobseekers. Robby Cunningham, a spokesman with the Agency for Workforce Innovation, says the extension will help the most down and out jobseekers.

“This is for people who either have exhausted all their benefits or soon will. It will be paid through June 5th, so there is an element of retroactive payments for those who still have benefits available to them through this program, or who perhaps were on the program prior to it ending earlier in the year,” said Cunningham.

AWI will begin taking Extended Benefits applications on Wednesday through its website, www.floridajobs.org.