Sun Sentinel:75 people leaving Florida Daily

GAINESVILLE — On an average day, there are 75 fewer of us living in South Florida than there were just 24 hours earlier.




What are these?

For the first time since World War II, the state population is shrinking, and the decline is greatest in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties. According to figures released Wednesday by university researchers, the number of Florida residents dropped by more than 58,000 between April 2008 and April 2009, a figure that included a loss of about 27,400 in South Florida.

In a region home to more than five million people, an average daily decline of 75 is statistically and palpably insignificant. But, the drop represents the continuation of a trend that began to show up as the current recession got under way two years ago, experts say.

Still, in some of South Florida's smaller communities, the evidence of fewer people, however slight, is noticeable.

"Two-hundred-eighty-six, that's a lot to us," West Park Commissioner Felicia Brunson said about the drop in residents of her Broward County city - and the fall in property taxes.