Factors driving Florida's economic recovery

Governor Scott is taking credit for Florida's drop in unemployment, saying its proof his policies are working.

But Democrats give the credit to President Obama. So what really is driving our recovery?

A big part of it is that the construction bust is over. New homes and buildings have been popping up across Tampa Bay.

There's $200 million in new construction just in St. Petersburg alone.

Tourists are filling hotels and beaches -- all are strong signs that in Florida the good times are back.

Keith Overton runs the Tradewinds Island resort in St. Pete Beach. He says the hotel is on pace for a record year and plans to hire an extra 60 to 75 people.

"Clearly, people are spending money without a lot of concern -- surprising, because when you read the newspaper or watch TV commentary, you don't think that's happening," Overton said.

It turns out the government had wrong numbers. New reports show we added more jobs last year than originally thought. This year, we're taking off faster than economists expected.

So what's driving it?

There is the soaring stock market and a recovery of wealth. Retirees are coming back to Florida and that's throttled the housing market.

Meanwhile, tourists from South America are flooding our theme parks.

The economies in South America, particularly Brazil, are taking off. And middle class families here in our country have also been saving up. Now they're not 'as' worried about their jobs-- and they want to enjoy life again.

And that should continue to feed our economy.

The recovery does not appear to be helping Governor Scott in the polls. He has struggled with low approval ratings since the day he took office. A new survey from Public Policy Polling gives him an approval rating of 33 percent.