New jobs are still elusive, but January sales beat expectations, and chains are optimistic about March.
By MARK ALBRIGHT
Published February 25, 2004
Retail sales are holding up in February as consumers continue to spend.
But retailers have yet to see enough signs of a solid economic recovery to ramp up their hiring or increase inventories much beyond where they were a year ago.
"January was better than expected, and February is shaping up as a 5 to 6 percent sales gain in stores open more than a year," said Patrice Duker, spokeswoman for the International Council of Shopping Centers, which tracks a national sample of 77 chains. "But retailers are still being cautious about their own spending."
Florida is not much different. A survey of 154 Florida retail companies released on Tuesday found retailers have grown more optimistic about their sales performance for the third consecutive quarter, according to the Florida Retail Federation. The results translate into a forecast 5 percent increase in retail sales for the quarter that ends March 31, said Bart Weitz, director of the University of Florida retailing program that compiles the survey. The increases are spread evenly across most categories of retailing.
"The retail industry has for the most part recovered from the downturn," said Rick McAllister, president and chief executive of the statewide trade group. "It's only a matter of time until that rebound translates into some hiring. Maybe it will come in the second or third quarter."
Job growth has been the big missing ingredient in the economic recovery.
Retailers account for about one in every five jobs in Florida. The federation survey found that only 27 percent of retail companies increased their inventory beyond what it was during the first quarter a year ago. It found 17 percent plan to hire more employees and 22 percent plan to increase their advertising budget.
The state government said sales tax collections rose 13 percent to $1.8-billion in January. January collections were for December sales.
"We're a little above estimate for the third month in a row," said Dave Bruns, spokesman for the Department of Revenue. "Spending out there seems to be pretty strong."
