Florida’s economy is expected to keep growing through 2013.

A Federal Reserve index that tries to predict state-by-state economic growth for the short term shows an expanding economy in the Sunshine State. The Philadelphia branch of the Fed issued its latest leading indices Thursday morning, and they look encouraging for most states.

Florida’s economy should grow by about 1.7 percent during the next six months, the Fed says. That’s the strongest growth predicted by the index since August 2005.