Summary of Findings


Data from the 1992 Census of Retail Trade show that Washington's
31,683 retail stores with payroll had sales totaling $40.9 billion. In
1987, 28,499 retail stores had sales of $27.2 billion. The 1992 data
represent an increase of 50.1 percent in total retail sales for the
State. 

For establishments with payroll in 1992, sales of grocery stores
accounted for 19.4 percent of the State's total sales by retailers
compared with 21.9 percent in 1987. Other leading retail kinds of
business in 1992 were new and used car dealers with 15.3 percent of
sales, department stores (including leased departments) with 9.2
percent, and gasoline service stations with 6.5 percent. 

For 1992, sales for establishments with payroll in the State averaged
$1.3 million per establishment, compared with $956 thousand in 1987. In
1992, department stores (including leased departments) averaged $21.6
million per establishment; new and used car dealers, $15.4 million;
miscellaneous general merchandise stores, $8.8 million; catalog and
mail-order houses, $3.0 million; and grocery stores, $2.9 million. 

For retail establishments with payroll, 1992 sales per employee
averaged $107 thousand. New and used car dealers had sales per employee
of $364 thousand, which contrasts sharply with the $29 thousand per
employee average for restaurants. 

The 1992 payroll of retailers in the State amounted to $5.1 billion,
compared with $3.4 billion for 1987. Payroll as a percent of sales of
establishments with payroll averaged 12.4 percent for all retailers,
29.3 percent for retail bakeries, compared with 5.0 percent for
gasoline service stations. 

There were 381,184 paid employees (full- and part-time) engaged in
retail trade in the State as of mid-March 1992, compared with 329,204
employees in 1987. Large employers included restaurants with 72,957
employees, refreshment places with 54,737 employees, and grocery stores
with 52,964 employees.