While Florida is on the Rise, U.S. Economy Grew at 0.4% to Sour Americans

The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 0.4 percent at the end of 2012. While experts expect the nationwide recovery to hasten in the first quarter of 2013, some of the revisions of last years fourth-quarter numbers signaled a decline.

On Thursday, the Commerce Department estimated GDP grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the final quarter of 2012, but a prior estimate had shown a decline, reports Fox News.

Because the national economy has been slow to recover, many Americans still feel hard-pressed for positive things to say. A Pew Research Center survey in March revealed 33 percent of Americans only hear bad news about the economy. And, when it comes to jobs, the number hearing bad news rose to nearly 45 percent.

While the national attitude toward the economy is somber, Floridians have a different opinion.

A Thursday report by the University of Floridas Bureau of Economic and Business Research showed consumer confidence among Floridians ticked up three points to 76 in March from February, and four of the five units that comprise the index improved.

Floridians expectations about personal finances as compared to a year ago went up by four points to 68. The last time that level was reached was 1992, coming out of the prior two years of recession. Meanwhile, perceptions of U.S. economic conditions over the next year rose five points to 78. Both young and old felt good about the economy, but lower-income residents were not as optimistic.

Read the full story on Sunshine State News.