> Published Monday, July 24, 2000, in the Miami Herald
>
> Orlando not as friendly to workers as tourists
>
> Many cannot afford housing
>
> BY MIKE SCHNEIDER
> Associated Press
>
> ORLANDO -- The cost of apartment rentals in Orlando may seem cheap compared
> with those in 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 as 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 affordable housing indicate the city may be
> paying dearly for its low-paying, low-skill tourism and entertainment jobs.
>
> HIGH COSTS
>
> Among the social costs of having a tourism-based economy: a transient
> workforce, large numbers of students changing schools 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.
> THE FLIP SIDE
>
> 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 like high tech,
> manufacturing, wholesale trade, finance, insurance and real estate.
>
> One of eight workers in metro Orlando works more than one job.
>
> Even tourism workers on the high-end of the pay scale, like Walt Disney
> World and Universal Studios actor Holland Hayes, find it tough to live a
> comfortable lifestyle without holding down two jobs. Hayes works up to 60
> hours a week at both theme parks and performs at convention shows.
>
> ``I love to act, that's why I do it,'' said Holland, 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 and
> more than 100,000 hotel rooms. It attracts close to 40 million visitors a
> year.
>
> But the tourism growth has come not 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.
> NO MASS TRANSIT
>
> 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 roadways.
>
> In addition, the tourist economy contributes to a mobile population. In
> 1996, for instance, some 15 percent of Orange County's population was
> either moving in or moving out of the area, according to the Healthy
> Community Initiative.
>
> TOLL ON SCHOOLS
>
> 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.
>
> This mobility and tremendous growth also contributed to metro Orlando
> becoming the No. 1 market for new apartment starts last year.
>
> At the same time, a recent report by the Orange County Affordable Housing
> Task Force shows that
> 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
> respectively a one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartment, according to the
> report.
>
> The starting wage is $6.35 an hour at Disney, which with 55,000 workers is
> the area's largest employer. The minimum wage nationally is $5.15 hourly.
>
> Holland said improving wages would go a long way to helping tourism workers.
>
> ``The way the job market is here,'' he said. ``I don't see how they've
> gotten away with it.''