When two activities or more were carried on at a single location under a single ownership, all activities generally were grouped together as a single establishment. The entire establishment was then classified on the basis of its major activity and all data for it were included in that classification. Leased departments are treated as separate establishments and are classified according to the kind of business they conduct. Established according to criteria from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, MSAs are defined in terms of entire counties, except in the six New England states where the MSAs are in terms of cities and towns. The definition of paid employees is the same as that used on IRS form 941.
Sales are net after deductions for refunds and allowances for merchandise returned by customer.
Trade-in allowances are not deducted from sales. Sales do not include retail sales made by manufacturers, wholesalers, service establishments, or other businesses whose primary activity is other than retail trade. They do not include receipts other than from the sale of merchandise at retail, e.g., service receipts, sales to industrial users, and sales to other retailers, by establishments primarily engaged in retail trade. For the complete pdf report of the 1997 Economic Census of Retail Trade, go to the Census Bureau's Web Site .