Summary of Findings  
  
  
Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Montana's
6,808 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $6.2 billion.
In 1987, 6,790 retail stores had sales of $4.3 billion. The 1992
data represent an increase of 43.8 percent in total retail sales
for the State.   
  
For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores 
accounted for 20.0 percent of the State's total sales by
retailers compared with 22.9 percent in 1987. Other leading
retail kinds of business in 1992 were new and used car dealers
with 17.8 percent of sales, department stores (including leased
departments) with 8.5 percent, and gasoline service stations with
8.4 percent.   
  
For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State
averaged $918 thousand per establishment, compared with $640
thousand in 1987. In 1992, department stores (including leased
departments) averaged $12.0 million per establishment; new and
used car dealers, $7.9 million; miscellaneous general merchandise
stores, $3.0 million; grocery stores, $2.4 million; and lumber
and other building materials dealers, $1.8 million.   
  
For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee  
averaged $97 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per
employee of $345 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $25
thousand per employee average for restaurants.   
  
The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $697
million, compared with $503 million for 1987. Payroll as a
percent of sales of establishments with payroll averaged 11.2
percent for all retailers, 26.4 percent for retail bakeries,
compared with 6.6 percent for gasoline service stations.   
  
There were 64,398 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with
56,985 employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants
with 11,706 employees, grocery stores with 9,889 employees, and
refreshment places with 8,645 employees.