The most vivid sign of Florida's fight against recession came in August with the news that the state's ever-rising population declined in the 12 months ending April 1. Preliminary estimates show a drop of 58,000 in a state where growth has fueled the economic engine for more than 60 years.

The Tallahassee metropolitan statistical area, however, gained population during the same period. Wakulla County's increase of 3.5 percent to 31,791 was the most dramatic.

Florida’s first population contraction since World War II is now affecting how advertisers see the Tampa-St. Petersburg market for the upcoming television season.

Nielsen Media Research said four of Florida’s major television markets – Tampa, Miami, Fort Myers and Tallahassee – are down in the overall ranking of designated market areas because of declines in domestic migration.

We first heard the term decades ago: The "Sun Belt" was just starting a run of phenomenal growth - and no wonder. It conjured a sunny state of mind as well as a balmy place on the map.

Everybody, it seemed, wanted a spot in the sun.

For a generation or more, the Sun Belt thrived like no other region in America - a growth so steady it felt as though the boom would never end. But now it has, replaced by a bust that has left some swaths of the region suffering as severely as anywhere in the current recession.

What brought the dark clouds to the Sun Belt, and are they here to stay?

1/2 PRICE BOOK SALE! Reduced to $25.

Get both the 2008 Book and the Florida Statistical Abstract on CD-ROM as a set for only $75

AUBER 2009 Award of Excellence in Publications Winner

Acclaimed for over forty years as the state data book, and recognized nationally by the Association for University Business and Economic Research as a 2009 Award of Excellence in Publications award winner in its class, the Florida Statistical Abstract continues to set the standard for reliable economic and demographic data, containing the largest collection of state and county statistics on demographic, social, and economic conditions in Florida. Selected national and comparative data for other states and countries are also included.

Lee County's economic output slowed to a crawl in 2006, sinking what had been one of the nation's fastest growing economies to a middle-of-the-pack performer, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The area ranked 175 out of 363 metropolitan statistical areas for growth, as ranked by the bureau. In 2005, Lee ranked sixth in the nation for growth.