Retail Trade--Summary statistics

[1,532 represents 1,532,000. 1972 through 1982 based on 1972 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code; beginning 1987 based on 1987 SIC code. Prior years based on earlier editions of SIC. Comparability of data over time is affected by changes in the SIC code]



Item	Unit	1958	1963	1967	1972	1977	1982	1987	1992	1997


Firms, total ¹	1,000	(NA)	1,532	1,577	1,665	1,567	1,573	1,992	2,212	(NA)
Multiunit establishments ^ref="#1">¹ \2	1,000	(NA)	240	234	301	343	415	498	528	(NA)
Establishments, total ¹	1,000	1,795	1,708	1,763	1,780	1,855	1,923	2,420	2,672	(NA)
With payroll	1,000	1,185	1,206	1,192	1,265	1,304	1,324	1,504	1,526	1,561
With sales of $1,000,000 or more ³	1,000	(NA)	(NA)	(NA)	74	119	193	259	326	(NA)

Consumer Price Index: ⁴
All items	1982-84=100	28.9	30.6	33.4	41.8	60.6	96.5	113.6	140.3	160.5
All commodities	1982-84=100	33.3	34.4	36.8	44.5	64.2	97.0	107.7	129.1	141.8
Sales	Bil. dol.	200	244	310	457	723	1,066	1,540	1,949	(NA)
By establishments with payroll	Bil. dol	188	233	295	440	700	1,039	1,493	1,895	2,546
By multiunit establishments ²	Bil. dol	67	90	124	202	341	567	844	1,137	(NA)
Percent of total sales	Percent	33.5	36.6	39.8	44.0	47.1	53.2	54.8	58.3	(NA)
Percent of multiunit sales by 100-or-more
establishment multiunits ^ref="#2">² \5	Percent	42.4	43.1	46.7	55.8	55.8	54.5	54.6	57.0	(NA)
In 1987 dollars ⁶	Bil. dol	(NA)	712	843	1,042	1,170	1,175	1,540	1,669	(NA)
Retail sales implicit price deflator ⁶		(NA)	0.343	0.368	0.439	0.618	0.907	1.000	1.168	(NA)
Percent of sales by corporations ³	Percent	53.0	61.9	67.4	76.4	79.8	84.6	88.9	89.9	(NA)

Per capita sales: ⁷
Current dollars	Dollars	1,156	1,296	1,571	2,186	3,291	4,601	6,357	7,643	(NA)
Constant (1987) dollars ⁶	Dollars	(NA)	3,777	4,269	4,978	5,325	5,073	6,357	6,544	(NA)
Resident population as of July 1	1,000	174,149	188,483	197,457	209,284	219,760	231,664	242,289	255,028	(NA)

Sales as percent of personal income	Percent	54.6	51.3	48.0	46.0	44.2	38.5	38.9	36.2	#��!
Personal income	Bil. dol	367.2	476.4	646.5	994.3	1,637.1	2,768.4	3,962.5	5,390.4	6,951.1
Payroll, entire year	Bil. dol	21.6	27.6	36.2	55.4	85.9	123.6	177.5	222.9	290.5
Percent of sales ⁸	Percent	11.5	11.9	12.3	12.6	12.3	11.9	11.9	11.8	11.4
Paid employees, March 12 pay period ⁹	1,000	7,942	8,410	9,381	11,211	13,040	14,468	17,780	18,407	21,166

NA Not available.
1 Through 1982, represents the number of establishments and firms in business at the end of year. Beginning 1987, represents the number of establishments and firms in business at any time during year.

2 Establishments of firms that operate at two or more locations.
3 Through 1982, represents establishments with and without payroll. Beginning 1987, represents only establishments with payroll.
4 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Monthly Labor Review. Beginning 1982, CPI-U annual averages, see text, Section 15, Prices.
5 Prior to 1982, data provided for percent of multiunit sales by 101-or-more establishment units.
6 Based on implicit price deflators for retail sales supplied by U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
7 Based on estimated resident population as of July 1.
8 Covers only establishments with payroll.
9 1958 and 1963 data for week including November 15.

Source: Except as noted, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S Census of Business: 1958, Vol. I; 1963, Vol. I 1967, Vol. 1; and Census of Retail Trade, 1972, RC72-S-1; 1977, RC77-52; 1982, RC82-A-52 and RC82-I-1; 1987, RC87-A-52, RC87-N-1, and RC87-S-1; and 1992, RC92-A-52, RC92-N-1, RC92-S-1. and EC97X-CS2

http://www.census.gov/econ/www/retmenu.html * CENSUS OF RETAIL TRADE

PURPOSE

To provide periodic and comprehensive statistics about retail establishments and activities. The United States Code, Title 13, requires this census and provides for mandatory responses.

COVERAGE

Domestic establishments that sell merchandise and related services to the public for personal or household consumption. These are all establishments classified in SIC Division G, excluding nonemployers engaged in direct selling (SIC 5963). In 1992, over 1.5 million employer establishments accounted for retail sales of nearly $1.9 trillion.

CONTENT

Basic data obtained for all establishments include kind of business, geographic location, dollar volume of sales, annual and first quarter payroll, and employment for the pay period including March 12. Establishments receiving a census form provide additional data on organizational status, sales by class of customer, sales by merchandise line, method of selling, and industry-specific measures (such as number of prescriptions by drug stores).

FREQUENCY

Every 5 years since 1972, for years ending in "2" and "7." From 1929 through 1967, retail trade statistics were published periodically as part of the census of business. Data collection begins in December of the census year and responses are due in about 8 weeks. Data are requested for activities taking place during the census calendar year.

METHODS

A mail-out/mail-back data collection for establishments of multi-unit companies, large single-unit employers, and a sample of small employers; and administrative records data for non-selected small employers and all nonemployers. All establishments of multi-unit firms and single-unit employers with annualized payroll above a size cutoff (for most industries, equivalent to about 3 employees) receive a census form. A sample of small employers also receives a census form. This sample is selected using a stratified sampling procedure with strata based on industry and geography. Basic data for non- selected small employers and nonemployers are obtained from Federal administrative records. Estimates for sales by merchandise line and other industry-specific data are based partly on small employer sample results.

*

http://www.allcountries.org/uscensus/1271_retail_trade_summary.html

These tables are based on figures supplied by the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce and are subject to revision by the Census Bureau.

Copyright © 2006 Photius Coutsoukis and Information Technology Associates, all rights reserved.