More fun facts 1. | Wildlife viewing supports nearly four times more jobs in-state than employed by FPL Group, the parent of Florida Power and Light. (2006 Fortune 500) | 2. | Wildlife viewing, photography and feeding is enjoyed by 3.274 million Florida residents – nearly 10 times more than the population of the Tallahassee metropolitan area. (U.S. Census Bureau) | 3. | Since 2001, the number of people who visited Florida to view wildlife increased 50 percent. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2001 and 2006 National Surveys of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation) | 4. | In 2006, the nonresident wildlife viewers in Florida (746,000) equaled the population of South Dakota and brought $653 million into the state economy. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation; U.S. Census Bureau) | 5. | Approximately the same number of people participated in wildlife viewing in Florida than voted for either candidate in the 2004 presidential election. (3.274 million residents participated in wildlife viewing, 3.965 million people voted for Bush and 3.583 million voted for Kerry; U.S. Federal Elections Commission) | 6. | The state tax revenues from viewing wildlife in Florida in 2006 equaled half the annual toll collections on the Florida Turnpike. (Florida Department of Transportation) | 7. | In 2006, if the jobs supported by wildlife viewing expenditures had disappeared, the state unemployment rate would have jumped from 3.3 percent to 3.9 percent. (as of November, 2006; data source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) | 8. | Jobs supported by wildlife viewing in Florida are approximately the same size as the work force in the Sebastian/Vero Beach area. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) | 9. | In 2006, seven times more was spent just in Florida for wildlife viewing than earned nationally by "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest" – the top grossing movie of 2006. (BoxOfficeMojo.com) |
Economic sectors stimulated by resident and Nonresident wildlife viewing spending* * Wildlife viewing expenditures benefit nearly all sectors of Florida’s economy. For example, purchases of bird seed and the planting of wildlife food plots and backyard wildlife habitats stimulate the sale of seed and native plants through local stores and nurseries. | Total output (sales) | Employment | Income | Agriculture, forestry, fish and hunting | $114,053,327 | 2,853 | $20,510,347 | Mining | $37,347,982 | 137 | $2,579,315 | Utilities | $62,541,410 | 113 | $13,090,986 | Construction | $23,072,998 | 253 | $9,972,242 | Manufacturing | $1,395,958,248 | 4,382 | $246,978,144 | Wholesale trade | $170,378,452 | 1,289 | $72,632,764 | Transportation and warehousing | $423,812,224 | 2,378 | $117,375,372 | Retail trade | $707,246,264 | 14,851 | $361,299,852 | Information | $113,338,300 | 511 | $29,989,823 | Finance and insurance | $170,780,896 | 1,109 | $58,501,403 | Real estate and rental | $552,639,068 | 3,818 | $91,748,526 | Professional scientific and technical services | $210,781,336 | 1,961 | $97,629,040 | Management of companies | $61,318,037 | 383 | $28,137,474 | Administrative and waste services | $111,813,394 | 2,004 | $53,708,279 | Educational services | $14,716,244 | 303 | $8,281,925 | Health and social services | $164,489,844 | 2,181 | $89,281,016 | Arts-entertainment and recreation | $50,563,568 | 743 | $20,316,996 | Accommodation and food services | $523,361,184 | 8,450 | $178,243,924 | Other services | $147,256,148 | 3,104 | $65,000,498 | Government and non NAICs | $187,355,220 | 542 | $30,263,414 | Total | $5,242,824,144 | 51,366 | $1,595,541,340 |
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