• With more than 22,000 high-tech companies employing over 282,000 workers, Florida has the fourth largest number of high-tech jobs among U.S.states.

• Florida also ranks third in the nation in high-tech exports.

• Florida’s total merchandise trade is over $130 billion.

• Foreign direct investment in Florida reached $39.3 billion in 2006, sustaining an estimated 273,100 jobs. This makes Florida the 9th largest recipient of foreign direct investment in the nation, with the 5th highest employment rate.

• Florida has the fourth largest labor force and the 20th lowest unemployment rate.

• Miami is second only to New York as a U.S. center for international banking. More than 300 financial institutions – including over 70 international banks – operate in Florida.

• Florida is ranked the 10th largest biotechnology center in the nation by Ernst & Young.

• Florida is home to the National Center for Entrepreneurship.

• There are more direct flights from Florida airports to Latin American and Caribbean destinations than from all other cities in the United States combined.

• Every business in Florida is within 90 miles of one of 14 deep-water ports.

• Florida’s average cost of labor is 10 percent lower than the national average and Florida is one of only ten states with a right-to-work provision in its state constitution.

• No Floridian lives more than 50 miles from an institution of post-secondary learning.

• Florida's business environment is consistently ranked as one of the most favorable among all U.S. states

• Florida is home to the National Center for Simulation and numerous skilled Simulation/Modeling/Training professionals that develop applications for industries ranging from aviation to medicine to entertainment.