Taxable Sales Index 2011-11-01 to 2011-11-30

Current: 93.41
Previous: 91.56

The Florida Taxable Sales index advanced for the month of November, gaining about two percent. Interestingly enough, percentagewise the index increased by more than actual sales due to a decline in the national Consumer Price Index for the same month. The panhandle region suffered the most, with the MSA-level indices for Destin, Pensacola, and Panama City all declining slightly; this was mainly seen in the tourism component, as tourism for Destin and Panama City were the two worst performers in the state. On the other hand, tourism for Sebastian and Palm Coast, as well as durable goods for Palm Bay/Melbourne, each advanced by more than fourty five percent for the month. Meanwhile, the Naples index was the biggest gainer over all the MSAs; although this could be somewhat misleading for the month, because the indices are taken on a fourth month moving average. One possibility for the stark contrast in tourism for different regions is that November is typically the first month of significant snowbird presence for Florida, and most snowbirds head for warmer regions than the panhandle; however, this influx would not affect the seasonally adjusted indices unless that presence was higher than normal. Overall, this marks the fourth straight month of advancement for the state index and the highest reading since August 2008.