Ever-Growing Florida Sees Population Drop

"It's the first time since 1946 that Florida has been a net population loser. Even during the Great Depression, new residents swept into the state in search of work and leisure. But the severe housing contraction, combined with the sputtering of Florida's job creation machine, has eclipsed the state's former gravitational pull."

The demographers based their report largely on data from electric company connection numbers and building permits.