Wholesale/retail trade in 2009: sales and employment down

The year 2009 was marked by the effects of the recession. Business fell sharply in wholesaling, particularly for intermediate goods and producer durables. Retailing and small craft businesses, as a whole, held their own. Excluding pharmacies, where business remained brisk, retail trade volume posted a moderate decline. Admittedly, large food stores and small food stores and frozen-food outlets maintained steady sales, but other retail categories posted lower sales. Total retail and motor-vehicle repair sales declined slightly, despite the rise in sales of new cars stimulated by the scrapping premium. For the first time in fifteen years, total wholesale/retail employment fell, including in the retail trade.