Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Pennsylvania's
71,652 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $87.8 billion. In
1987, 70,823 retail stores had sales of $71.2 billion. The 1992 data
represent an increase of 23.3 percent in total retail sales for the
State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 18.8 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 18.8 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 9.7
percent, and gasoline service stations with 6.3 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$1.2 million per establishment, compared with $1.0 million in 1987. In
1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged $15.1
million per establishment; catalog and mail-order houses, $13.7
million; new and used car dealers, $10.0 million; miscellaneous general
merchandise stores, $3.3 million; and grocery stores, $2.9 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $102 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $342 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $26 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $10.0 billion,
compared with $8.1 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 11.4 percent for all retailers,
26.3 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 5.8 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 861,565 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 847,907
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 143,464
employees, grocery stores with 136,311 employees, and refreshment
places with 93,387 employees.