Orlando..symbol of a mickey mouse economy:
azcentral.com
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Orlando gets pricey
Tourism industry
workers find it
harder to live
Mike Schneider
Associated Press
Aug. 01, 2000
ORLANDO - The costof apartment rentals in
Orlando may seem cheap compared to
those in the Silicon Valley and New York,
but it's becoming less affordable each year
for thousands of residents.
The area's tourist economy supports low-paid workers who are finding it
more difficult to pay for a roof over their heads - while an influx of new
residents makes affordable housing scarce.
Look beneath Orlando's glossy veneer as one of the world's top tourist
destinations, and issues like housing indicate the city may be paying
dearly for its tourism-based economy: a transient workforce, large
numbers of students changing schools in midyear, little sense of
community, crowded roads and a lack of job diversity.
"These people are not living the American dream the way their parents
did," said Mike Duffy, president of Local 362 of the Service Employees
International Union. "These people are working two or three jobs to get
by."
On the surface, Orlando's economy is a picture of good health.
The region is essentially at full employment with an unemployment rate
of 2.5 percent and among the national leaders in job growth. The area is
facing a labor shortage in many areas such as construction.
The cost of living here is about equal to the national average. In the
1990s, the metro Orlando region grew almost 20 percent to a population
of 1.6 million.
But the picture isn't as clear when you look at the region's economic
numbers, as found in a report recently released by Workforce Central
Florida and the Economic Development Commission of Mid-Florida.
• At more than $23,100, the region's per-capita income is less than the
national average of about $25,200.
• The services sector, dominated by low-paying amusement park and
hotel jobs, makes up 40 percent of the jobs in metro Orlando.
• The area has relatively few jobs in high-paying sectors such as high
tech, manufacturing, wholesale trade, finance, insurance and real
estate.
• One in eight workers in metro Orlando works more than one job.
Even tourism workers on the high end of the pay scale, such as Walt
Disney World and Universal Studios actor Holland Hayes, find it tough to
live a comfortable lifestyle without holding down two jobs. Hayes works
as many as 60 hours a week at both theme parks and performs at
convention shows.
"I love to act, that's why I do it," said Hayes, who gets paid $15 an hour
at the parks.
Tourism has been the region's economic bread and butter ever since
Walt Disney World opened in 1971. Before Disney's arrival, Orlando was
a sleepy citrus and cattle city with a dairy farm in the middle of
downtown.
Since then, metro Orlando has grown to have eight major theme parks,
more than 100,000 hotel rooms and attracts close to 40 million visitors a
year.
But the tourism growth has not come without social costs.
A recent report by the Healthy Community Initiative of Greater Orlando
rates the health of Orange County, the economic nexus of the
community, at 60 on a scale of 100 points. Sprawl and traffic congestion
were cited as some of the biggest concerns.
Orlando's tourist economy is dependent on transportation, but it has no
mass-transit system. Close to 30 million visitors fly into metro Orlando
on kerosene-fueled jets and rent gasoline driven cars, contributing to air
pollution. Tourists who make Orlando the No. 1 rental car market in the
nation clog major roads.
In addition, the tourist economy contributes to a mobile population. In
1996, for instance, about 15 percent of Orange County's population was
either moving in or moving out of the area, according to the Healthy
Community Initiative.
Such mobility affects Orange County schools, where 45 percent of
elementary school students switch schools midyear, and an equal
percentage qualify for their school's free or reduced-price lunch
programs.
A recent report by the Orange County Affordable Housing Task Force
shows affordable housing is becoming more difficult to find in metro
Orlando. The report shows that 43 percent of Orange County renters
can't afford a two-bedroom apartment at a fair-market rate of $678 a
month, and 38 percent can't afford $569 for a one-bedroom apartment. A
housing unit is considered affordable if it costs no more than 30 percent
of household income.
A worker would have to earn $10.94 hourly and $13.04 hourly to afford a
one- and two-bedroom apartment, respectively, the report says.
Meanwhile, the starting wage is $6.35 an hour at Disney, which with
55,000 workers is the area's largest employer.
"The way the job market is here, I don't see how they've gotten away
with it," Holland said of the region's big employers.>> |
