Summary of Findings  
  
  
Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that New Mexico's 
9,311 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $11.3
billion. In 1987, 9,032 retail stores had sales of $7.9 billion.
The 1992 data represent an increase of 42.4 percent in total
retail sales for the State.   
  
For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores 
accounted for 19.0 percent of the State's total sales by
retailers compared with 20.2 percent in 1987. Other leading
retail kinds of business in 1992 were new and used car dealers
with 16.5 percent of sales, department stores (including leased
departments) with 10.6 percent, and gasoline service stations
with 9.0 percent.   
  
For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State
averaged $1.2 million per establishment, compared with $877
thousand in 1987. In 1992, department stores (including leased
departments) averaged $17.2 million per establishment; new and
used car dealers, $11.6 million; grocery stores, $3.1 million;
catalog and mail-order houses, $2.9 million; and miscellaneous
general merchandise stores, $2.6 million.   
  
For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee 
averaged $100 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per
employee of $322 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $26
thousand per employee average for restaurants.   
  
The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $1.3
billion, compared with $941 million for 1987. Payroll as a
percent of sales of establishments with payroll averaged 11.5
percent for all retailers, 29.8 percent for retail bakeries,
compared with 5.4 percent for gasoline service stations.   
  
There were 112,340 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged
in retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with
104,620 employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants
with 19,902 employees, refreshment places with 17,789 employees,
and grocery stores with 14,450 employees.