In the third quarter of 2009, turnover in the retail sector declined by 5.6 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2008, but rose by 3.8 per cent over the preceding quarter.

Turnover

In the third quarter of 2009, motor trade, wholesale trade and retail trade declined by 4.7, 11.7 and 5.6 per cent respectively over the comparative quarter in 2008. Compared with the second quarter in 2009, retail trade experienced a gain of 3.8 per cent, while motor trade and wholesale trade declined by 0.8 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Employment

In the period under review, employment in the motor trade fell by 5.2 per cent when compared to the corresponding period in 2008. Similarly, a 2.2 per cent decline was registered in the wholesale trade sector. In contrast, employment in retail trade grew by 0.2 per cent. Compared to the preceding three months, declines in respect of all three sectors were recorded in the third quarter of 2009.

Wages and salaries and hours worked

Year on year, wages and salaries in the third quarter of 2009 increased by 2.1 per cent and 12.9 per cent respectively for the motor trade and retail trade. On the other hand, wages and salaries in wholesale trade declined by 2.2 per cent. Quarter-on-quarter data revealed that retail trade increased by 3.1 per cent, while motor trade and wholesale trade registered declines of 2.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

Hours worked

Compared to the third quarter of 2008, hours worked in the retail trade sector rose marginally in the period under review, by 0.3 per cent. At the same time, hours worked in the motor trade and in the wholesale trade sectors declined by 3.2 per cent and 8.3 per cent respectively. Compared to the second quarter of 2009, the motor trade registered an increase of 2.7 per cent, while wholesale trade and retail trade declined by 4.9 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.

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