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Florida's economy hits $1 trillion GDP milestone

By Kelly Healey

Florida - Key West

By Kelly Healey
Florida’s economy hit a new milestone. The state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) topped $1 trillion, the Florida Chamber Foundation’s chief economist announced Friday.
To put it into perspective, if Florida was an independent country, Florida’s $1 trillion economy would rank it as the 17th largest economy in the world – ahead of Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Argentina, the Florida Chamber of Commerce said.
"This is an historic moment for Florida reaching a record $1 trillion in GDP. By working every day to create private-sector jobs, we’ve been able to increase Florida’s GDP by more than $270 billion – 37 percent – since 2010,” Gov. Rick Scott said.

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The FCF said the state is adding about $2.74 billion to the state's gross domestic product each day.
The chamber has launched the "Florida 2030" initiative to address problem areas in the economy, such as the achievement gap in schools and the poverty rate.
“This growth in our economy is good news and reminds us of the positive impact that business, community, philanthropic and elected leaders can have on Florida when we work together toward a common goal of securing Florida’s future,” said Tony Carvajal, executive vice president of the Florida Chamber Foundation.
Despite hitting the $1 trillion mark, there's still room to grow. Wage growth has long been pointed to by economists as an area Florida's economy -- and the national economy -- need to address to continue growing.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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