Florida has relatively few raw materials and its location on the nation's periphery has hampered the development of manufacturing. Modern transportation and the state's large increase in population have reduced the liability of distance from market, and in recent years manufacturing in Florida has begun to grow faster than the national average.
Manufacturing is centered in the state's largest cities. In Miami many industries have been attracted by a large pool of inexpensive Latin American labor. High-technologyÊindustry has also located in Miami and neighboring counties, as well as around the Kennedy Space Center and in Greater St. Petersburg. In central and north Florida, agriculture, mining, and forestry provide raw materials for manufacturing. Counties in which manufacturing accounts for a large share of total employment are almost all in north Florida, where populations are low and one or two factories dominate employment.
