Summary of Findings





Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Rhode Island's

6,412 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $6.7 billion. In

1987, 6,682 retail stores had sales of $6.3 billion. The 1992 data

represent an increase of 6.6 percent in total retail sales for the

State. 



  For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores

accounted for 19.3 percent of the State's total sales by retailers

compared with 16.3 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of

business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 13.1 percent of

sales, department stores (including leased departments) with 7.8

percent, and gasoline service stations with 7.6 percent. 



  For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged

$1.1 million per establishment, compared with $945 thousand in 1987. In

1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged $17.0

million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $10.5 million;

miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $6.2 million; catalog and

mail-order houses, $5.7 million; and grocery stores, $2.9 million. 



  For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee

averaged $100 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee

of $350 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $31 thousand per

employee average for restaurants. 



  The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $839 million,

compared with $772 million for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of

establishments with payroll averaged 12.5 percent for all retailers,

27.0 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 5.6 percent for

gasoline service stations. 



  There were 67,276 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in

retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 76,449

employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 13,650

employees, grocery stores with 10,032 employees, and refreshment places

with 7,176 employees.