Florida Real Estate Newsletter: January 2006

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Polk County's economy set new records in home sales, building permits and in the labor force in 2005.

The county's labor market averaged a 4.1 percent unemployment rate last year, down from 5 percent the year before, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. Although last year's job data has not been finalized, the 4.1 percent annual rate would mark a new low for Polk, which also recorded a record single-month jobless rate in December, at 3.1 percent.

Revenue from tourism totaled nearly $144 million in 2005, according to the Polk County Tax Collector's Office. That figure, which includes hotel and vacation home rentals, was up 9 percent from 2004.

And taxable retail sales totaled $7.17 billion through November, the most recent available data from the Florida Department of Revenue. Last year's total was up 18.3 percent from the same period in 2004.