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Northwest Florida Retail Sales
by Michael Scheibe, MBA
 The Northwest Florida region’s retail sales totaled over $4.5 billion in the third quarter of 2008, down 6.3 percent from the previous year. According to the Census Bureau, the retail sales figures for the nation increased 0.9 percent over the same period. The retail sales in the region are measured according to data on taxable retail sales that is collected and distributed by the Florida Department of Revenue.
Despite the region as a whole being down 6.3 percent from the previous year, one county stayed the same. Franklin County had no significant losses. The largest percentage decline among the counties was a tie between Jefferson County and Wakulla County at -12.3 percent.
In the third quarter of 2008, four counties accounted for over 78 percent ($3.5 billion) of the taxable retail sales. Escambia County and Leon County were the two largest contributors at 22.9 percent ($1.0 billion) and 19.7 percent ($890 million), respectively. Therefore, twelve of the Northwest Florida counties collectively accounted for almost 22 percent ($982 billion) of the region’s total. Walton County was the largest out of these twelve counties with an 8.2 percent ($370 million) contribution while Liberty County was the smallest at 0.1 percent ($6.3 million).
The Northwest Florida Retail Sales graph shows actual monthly sales, a seasonally adjusted monthly figure, and a forecasted range. The seasonally adjusted monthly data has been trending downward over the past two years. The near term forecast for the Northwest Florida region continues to indicate only minor changes in upcoming retail sales when compared to the most recent retail sales figures. As the graph indicates, the peaks and the troughs in the forecast appear only slightly scaled back when compared to the previous year’s data.
The numbers for this article reflect the latest information available at the time of article preparation. Please note that these numbers are subject to subsequent revision by the Florida Department of Revenue.
| Table 1. Quarterly Retail Sales |
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Non Seasonally Adjusted Taxable Sales |
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Changes in Taxable Sales |
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Sales Dollars* |
Percentage of Regional Total |
|
Sales Dollar Change |
Percentage Change |
| |
(Q3-08) |
(Q3-08) |
|
(Q2-08 to Q3-08) |
(Q3-07 to Q3-08) |
| Bay |
790.6 |
17.5% |
|
-31.2 |
-4.6% |
| Calhoun |
15.0 |
0.3% |
|
1.0 |
-1.1% |
| Escambia |
1,032.9 |
22.9% |
|
-45.3 |
-7.5% |
| Franklin |
41.5 |
0.9% |
|
-3.6 |
0.0% |
| Gadsden |
71.8 |
1.6% |
|
-4.9 |
-8.0% |
| Gulf |
26.0 |
0.6% |
|
-3.0 |
-0.6% |
| Holmes |
15.7 |
0.3% |
|
-1.4 |
-8.3% |
| Jackson |
102.9 |
2.3% |
|
-6.5 |
-6.4% |
| Jefferson |
10.9 |
0.2% |
|
-0.6 |
-12.3% |
| Leon |
890.3 |
19.7% |
|
-27.2 |
-6.5% |
| Liberty |
6.3 |
0.1% |
|
-0.1 |
-4.5% |
| Okaloosa |
824.5 |
18.2% |
|
-50.6 |
-8.9% |
| Santa Rosa |
252.1 |
5.6% |
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-10.8 |
-5.0% |
| Wakulla |
36.5 |
0.8% |
|
-4.1 |
-12.3% |
| Walton |
369.9 |
8.2% |
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-26.9 |
-0.7% |
| Washington |
33.1 |
0.7% |
|
-1.4 |
-6.2% |
| Region |
4,520.0 |
100.0% |
|
-216.9 |
-6.3% |
Original Data Sources: Florida Department of Revenue. Data retrieved on 4/29/09. *Note: Sales data values are in millions of dollars.
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