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Sarasota News Leader October 12, 2012 The median price this August, however, was $164,012, down 0.8% from $165,370 in August 2011. The lowest level for average days on the mar- ket over the past 12 months occurred in Sep- tember 2011, according to the data, when it was 123 days. The median home price also has fluctuated, with the June figure of $186,750 the highest over the past 12 months. Among other positive news, gross sales revenue for the county for both re- tail operations and hotels and motels was up in July — the latest month for which figures are avail- able. Retail operations report- ed a figure of $967,030,000 for July, a rise of 2.2% Page 35 people in the labor force year-over-year, from 17,654 in August 2011 to 14,212 in August this year. The labor force figure itself, though, was down 0.6% year-over-year — from 161,375 in August 2011 to 160,391 in August this year. The number of those em- ployed in August was 146,179, up 1.7% from 143,721 in August 2011. Tables from the Sarasota County September 2012 Economic Report show the changes in the county's taxable property values since the 2007 fiscal year as well as national mortgage rate data going back to Au- gust 2009. Tables courtesy Sarasota County Office of Financial Planning from the July 2011 figure of $946,220,000, ac- cording to the Florida Department of Reve- nue. For hotels and motels, the July figure was $25,150,000, up 4.8% from the July 2011 level of $24 million, according to the DOR. Virginia Haley, president of Visit Sarasota County, told The Sarasota News Leader this summer that she challenged her staff to keep the tourism momentum going for the summer of 2012, after Siesta Public Beach was named No. 1 in the country just before Memorial Day weekend in 2011. Yet other positive data for the county showed a 19.5% drop in the number of unemployed Unemployment claims were down 26.7% from July 2011 to July this year — the lat- est month for which figures are available. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity reported 986 jobless claims for July this year, compared to 1,346 in July 2011. The unemployment rate for Sarasota County in August this year was 8.9%, down from 10.8% in August 2011. Among other reports, the airline passenger counts at Sarasota-Bradenton International declined in August, compared to August 2011. AirTran Airways ceased serving the airport in August. The number of people getting off planes at SRQ in August was 40,600, a drop of 2.7% from the August 2011 figure of 41,742. The enplanement figure for August was 41,070, down 3.9% from the August 2011 number of 42,756.