The Power of Retailing Florida retailers provide more than $25 billion in wages annually, provide one out of every five jobs, and collect and remit over $19 billion in sales and retail-related taxes for Florida's government. In fact, more than three out of four of Florida's budget dollars come from retail-related activities. Economic Outlook Fact: Retailing is Florida's second largest employment industry. Fact: Florida retailers provide 1 out of every 5 jobs. Fact: Florida retailers provide over $20 billion in wages annually. Fact: Florida retailers collect and remit over $13.4 billion in sales and retail-related taxes. Projection: From now to 2005, 82 percent of the new jobs created in trade will be in retail (four of the top six occupations gaining the most new jobs are retail related). Retailing Generates Jobs While the governmental, economic development, and educational institutions of Florida concentrate on bringing high tech, high education, high wage jobs to Florida, retailers of all sizes across the state continue to generate jobs and wages. Local entrepreneurs daily create retail businesses, jobs, training, and wages with little or no help from the institutions that claim to care about Florida's future economic health. Florida's merchants constantly face a daunting barrage of regulations and disincentives from government and others that seem designed to cause failure rather than success. Retailing is Florida's forgotten job generator. It is virtually ignored as the incubator for new business, business expansion, job training, career training, etc. According to the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security's, "Florida Industry and Occupational Employment Projections 1994-2005," trade (wholesale and retail) will become the second fastest-growing major industry division and gain the second largest number of new jobs behind services. Nearly one quarter of all new jobs created through 2005 will be in trade as the industry is spurred on by population and income growth. Four of the six top occupations gaining the most new jobs in this period will be cashier, salesperson (retail), waiter/waitress, and First Line Supervisor, sales, all of which are retail related.