Florida’s first population contraction since World War II is now affecting how advertisers see the Tampa-St. Petersburg market for the upcoming television season.

Nielsen Media Research said four of Florida’s major television markets – Tampa, Miami, Fort Myers and Tallahassee – are down in the overall ranking of designated market areas because of declines in domestic migration.

BROOKSVILLE - There has been a 41.5 percent decline in the average sales price of a single-family home in the past three years, according to new information from the property appraiser's office. That is a "sobering" statistic, said Nick Nikkinen, director of special projects for the property appraiser's office. Property Appraiser Alvin Mazourek said he has been property appraiser since 1997, and this is the first year he's seen any significant value drops in terms of home prices that affect tax assessments. "I've never seen the market like this," he said.

SPRING HILL — Every day Robin Street goes to work at Linens 'n Things, she is surrounded by the reality of her future. Plastered everywhere, big and small, red and yellow, the signs scream: "Going Out of Business Sale."

They serve as beacons to bargain shoppers. But to Street, who has spent 30 years in the retail field, they signal something much different: impending unemployment.

"I'm not sure what's next," the 51-year-old Spring Hill resident said earlier this week. "No one is hiring. It's bad in Hernando County."