Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Vermont's 5,164
retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $4.7 billion. In 1987,
5,077 retail stores had sales of $4.0 billion. The 1992 data represent
an increase of 17.1 percent in total retail sales for the State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 22.9 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 19.7 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of
business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 16.1 percent of
sales, gasoline service stations with 7.2 percent, and department
stores (including leased departments) with 5.3 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$917 thousand per establishment, compared with $796 thousand in 1987.
In 1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged $9.7
million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $7.2 million; fuel
oil dealers, $2.4 million; lumber and other building materials dealers,
$2.2 million; and catalog and mail-order houses, $1.9 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $103 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $332 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $27 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $564 million,
compared with $473 million for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 11.9 percent for all retailers,
27.6 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 7.1 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 45,895 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 46,635
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 9,125
employees, grocery stores with 8,297 employees, and refreshment places
with 4,005 employees.