With an interesting political landscape, Florida government jobs are some of the most important in the state and are continuing to grow.
In July 2008, Florida’s government industry employed a total of 1,139,000 workers, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, an increase of 1.2 percent from last year.
The state government consists of the judicial, executive and legislative branches. The legislature comprises the Florida Senate, which has 40 members, and the Florida House of Representatives, which has 120 members. The legislature is responsible for enacting bills, which if signed by the governor, become Florida statutes. The Florida Supreme Court consists of a chief justice and six justices.
There are 67 Counties in Florida, but some reports show only 66, because of Duval County, which is consolidated with the City of Jacksonville. There are 379 cities in the state that report regularly to the Florida Department of Revenue, but there are other incorporated municipalities that do not. The primary source of revenue for the State government is sales tax, and the primary revenue source for cities and counties is property tax.
Despite having a majority of Democrats from 1952 through 2004, Florida voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every election except in 1964, 1976 and 1996. In 1998, Democrats were described as most dominant in areas with high percentages of racial minorities and white liberals primarily originally from the northeast United States. Today, the South Florida Metropolitan area, Daytona and Orlando are some of the most Democratic areas in the state. Republicans remain dominant throughout much of the rest of the state, especially in more rural and suburban areas.
The fastest growing area in the state, which runs through Central Florida and connects the cities of Daytona Beach, Orlando and Tampa-St. Petersburg, has a similar number of Republican and Democratic voters. The area is often seen as a merging point of the conservative northern portion of the state and the liberal southern portion, making it the biggest swing area in the state. Most recently, whichever way this area, containing 40 percent of Florida voters, votes has often determined who will win the state of Florida in presidential elections.
The Democratic Party has maintained an edge in voter registration, both statewide and in 40 of the 67 counties, including the state’s three most populous counties: Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Palm Beach County. Despite the Democratic advantage in registration, as of 2008 Republicans controlled the governorship and most other statewide elective offices, both houses of the state legislature and 16 of the state’s 25 seats in the House of Representatives. Florida is consistently listed as a swing state in Presidential elections.