The mission of the Foundation is to provide education and research support to Florida's retail industry. FRF is a statewide trade association representing over 6,000 individual members who together own more than 12,000 retail outlets in Florida. Federation members include the giants of retailing nationally, as well as hometown, locally-owned independent merchants and other businesses that are interested in the health of Florida retailing. FRF provides a united voice and focus of power for the retail industry in Florida. This report examines current employment conditions, changes over time in the size and character of Florida's retail industry and an analysis by market region within the State.
Retail employment is the second largest major employment industry in Florida.
The growth in retailing jobs has kept pace with overall growth and development throughout the state. In the past fifteen years, retail employment has increased by 58 percent, from 817,000 workers in 1983 to 1.29 million in 1997. The figure of 134,223 is characterized by a sharp decline in the number of individually owned proprietorships since 1983. This represents approximately 14 percent of all wage and salary earnings in Florida. Click here to continue on to the Florida Retail Industry Report - Florida Summary Section.