Missouri Retail Sales, 2002: Key Findings

The term “jobless recovery” seems to apply to Missouri’s retail trade industry, where despite gains in overall economic activity and value-added there has been little growth in the labor market. Retail trade employment, establishments and wages have declined significantly, while retail sales have experienced only a small decline.

In 2002, retail sales totaled $40.801 billion in Missouri. There were 313,039 retail trade workers (11.92% of state employment) across 22,077 establishments who earned $6.535 billion in wages (7.51% of state wages), translating into an average wage of $20,879 per job.

Between 1999 and 2002, retail sales have experienced only a modest decline in real terms, declining by only -0.75%. By contract, retail trade employment has declined by -36.21%, wages by -22.77% and establishments by -29.32%. One positive sign, however, is that average wages per job in the retail sector increased by 21.08%, although the industry still pays well below the state average wage per job.

In 2002, the majority of retail sales were in miscellaneous retail (27.57%), general merchandise (20.45%), food (16.81%), eating and drinking (14.57%), home furniture and equipment (7.68%), building materials, hardware and mobile homes (4.89%), automotive dealers and gasoline service stations (4.63%), and apparel and accessories (3.39%).

In terms of actual retail sales in real terms, the largest increases between 1999 and 2002 were in general merchandise (141.83%), home furniture and equipment (10.97%), and eating and drinking (0.55%). Conversely, the largest losses were in miscellaneous retail (-27.62%), building materials, hardware and mobile homes (-21.11%), apparel and accessories (-13.40%), automotive dealers and gasoline service stations (-9.27%), and food (-4.31%).

According to 2002 pull factors, only a handful of counties experienced large gains in market capture, indicating they were attracting consumers from outside their county. These counties were located in major tourist and retirement destinations, such as Lake of the Ozarks and Branson; in areas where direct order firms are based, such as Springfield and Joplin; and in areas along principal highways, such as Cameron and Cape Girardeau. There were also moderate gains in rural regional trade centers, in smaller metropolitan areas, and in suburban portions of large metropolitan areas.

Conversely, most counties experienced large losses in market capture, indicating they were losing local consumers to other counties. These counties were located in the more remote rural areas of the state, such as agricultural areas in northern Missouri, public forest areas in south central Missouri, and in areas surrounding regional trade centers.

View the full report: Missouri Retail Sales, 2002 (PDF Format)

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