Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Mississippi's
15,285 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $14.8 billion. In
1987, 15,729 retail stores had sales of $11.4 billion. The 1992 data
represent an increase of 30.1 percent in total retail sales for the
State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 22.8 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 23.8 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of
business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 16.6 percent of
sales, department stores (including leased departments) with 12.9
percent, and gasoline service stations with 7.4 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$967 thousand per establishment, compared with $722 thousand in 1987.
In 1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged
$16.1 million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $9.7
million; miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $1.8 million; lumber
and other building materials dealers, $1.7 million; and grocery stores,
$1.5 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $98 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $339 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $27 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $1.6 billion,
compared with $1.3 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 10.8 percent for all retailers,
22.1 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 6.1 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 151,005 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 140,361
employees in 1987. Large employers included grocery stores with 29,407
employees, refreshment places with 26,558 employees, and restaurants
with 13,757 employees.