Retail sales sag
Retail sales in August dropped 6% over the same month last year, according to the Maine State Planning Office.
Total taxable retail sales in August were $1.61 billion, down from $1.71 billion in August 2008. Year-to-date retail sales are 8.6% lower compared to the same period last year. Building supply sales suffered the worst, falling a little more than 18% from August 2008, and lodging sales also dropped 9.2%. While auto and transportation sales jumped 8.1% over last year, year-to-date sales are still down 10.1%. Only food store sales are on the rise, up nearly 7% from August 2008 and 2.2% higher than the same time last year.
News of lagging retail sales comes only days after state lawmakers learned September revenues were $28 million under budget, putting the year-to-date budget hole at more than $40 million, according to the Sun Journal. Mike Allen of Maine Revenue Services told the appropriations committee that the number of jobs wouldn't likely rebound until 2012 or 2013, meaning less income tax for the state until then.
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