One group is doing its part to help support Florida retail jobs.
The new “Backyard Economics” program encourages Florida citizens to shop close to home. The group is a partnership among the Florida Retail Federation, Florida Chamber of Commerce, Florida League of Mayors, Florida Press Association, Florida Outdoor Advertising Association, National Federation of Independent Business and Florida TaxWatch.
“Our entire economy rides on how much Florida consumers consume and more importantly where they consume it,” Rick McAllister, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation, said in an article by the Jacksonville Business Journal. “We can recover faster than expected if we convince Floridians to do their spending close to home and support the businesses that are invested in their communities and their state.”
According to a report by Florida TaxWatch, Florida consumers spent about $11.2 billion in online shopping from other states and countries during 2008. This helped lead to the loss of more than 112,000 full-time jobs in Florida.
“Every $100,000 worth of online shopping causes one Floridian to lose his/her full-time job,” Dominic Calabro, president and CEO of Florida TaxWatch, said in the article.
Those involved hope the new effort will help maintain or create new jobs. Florida’s professional and business services industry employed 1,086,200 workers during January, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 1,120,400 workers during December 2008 and a 7.2 percent decrease from last year.
During January, the state had a total non-farm employment of 7,557,700 workers, down from 7,576,100 workers during December and a 4.5 percent decrease from last year. Florida’s unemployment rate increased from 7.6 percent to 8.6 percent during January.
Tags: Florida retail jobs