Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Florida's 87,653
retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $118.7 billion. In 1987,
83,808 retail stores had sales of $87.9 billion. The 1992 data
represent an increase of 35.0 percent in total retail sales for the
State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of new and used car
dealers accounted for 21.3 percent of the State's total sales by
retailers compared with 21.1 percent in 1987. Other leading retail
kinds of business in 1992 were grocery stores with 17.1 percent of
sales, department stores (including leased departments) with 8.9
percent, and gasoline service stations with 6.3 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$1.4 million per establishment, compared with $1.0 million in 1987. In
1992, new and used car dealers averaged $25.5 million per
establishment; department stores (including leased departments), $17.5
million; miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $7.4 million;
catalog and mail-order houses, $7.2 million; and lumber and other
building materials dealers, $3.3 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $108 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $487 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $30 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $13.3 billion,
compared with $10.3 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 11.2 percent for all retailers,
25.2 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 5.3 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 1,102,279 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 1,022,862
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 205,428
employees, grocery stores with 174,298 employees, and refreshment
places with 141,796 employees.