Northwest Fla.: How Bad Is It?

Retail
Downscaling

“Shoppers are being more cautious and conservative with their money — looking for lower ticket items or items that offer more value. We are located in a resort destination along the Gulf Coast, which is visited by over 17 million people each year. People tend to have more leisure time when they are on vacation, and they are still shopping and dining, just on a smaller scale. Our car traffic at Silver Sands year-to-date is up 9% versus last year; average sales per square foot and total center sales are up slightly.”

— Myra Williams, vice president of marketing, Howard Group, parent company of Silver Sands Factory Stores and Grand Boulevard, Destin

Government/Workforce
An Uptick — in Job Hunters

“We’re seeing a 30 to 35% increase in people coming in to our three One Stop centers — more people applying for welfare and unemployment benefits, more looking for jobs or second jobs. WestPoint Home closed a 150-employee plant at Marianna last year. Other companies are making do with fewer workers. Our five-county unemployment average, at 5.9% in August, was highest overall since 1993. To me, it seems worse than it was back in ’91. But there are bright spots, a lot related to renewable energy, for example use of biomass for generating electricity.”

— Richard Williams, executive director, Chipola Regional Work Force Board

Next page: Charts on Gross Sales, Unemployment and School Enrollment Change for the Northwest region of Florida

Tags: Northwest