Information from the Statistics and Census Service indicated that a total of 12,332 Wholesale & Retail establishments, market stalls and fixed stalls on the street were operating in 2008, an increase of 529 compared with 2007. At the end of 2008, number of persons engaged went up by 4% to 37,687. Total Receipts and Total Expenditure amounted to MOP38.37 billion and MOP36.35 billion respectively, both up by 19% over 2007. In addition, Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy increased by 16% to MOP5.62 billion, Gross Fixed Capital Formation rose by 14% to MOP898 million. There were 10,448 operating Wholesale & Retail establishments in 2008, an increase of 604 compared with 2007, of which 786 were engaging in the Sale of Motor Vehicles & Automotive Fuel, 4,512 (43% of total) in Wholesale Trade and 5,150 (49%) in Retail Trade. Number of persons engaged totalled 34,508, up by 5% year-on-year. Sales and Other Receipts of the Wholesale & Retail establishments amounted to MOP37.29 billion, up by 19% from 2007. Analyzed by industry, receipts of the Wholesale establishments rose by 18% to MOP18.35 billion (49% of total); receipts of the Retail establishments soared by 25% to MOP15.79 billion (42%) and those of Motor Vehicles & Automotive Fuel stood at MOP3.15 billion (9%). Total Expenditure of the Wholesale & Retail establishments increased by 19% over 2007 to MOP35.46 billion. In terms of expenditure items, Purchase of Goods & Commission Paid amounted to MOP28.97 billion (82% of total); Operating Expenses and Compensation of Employees were MOP3.89 billion and MOP2.60 billion respectively. In addition, number of operating market stalls and fixed street stalls decreased by 75 year-on-year to 1,884 in 2008, of which 796 were market stalls and 1,088 were fixed stalls on the street. Number of persons engaged went down by 7% year-on-year to 3,179. Receipts and Expenditure of the stalls amounted to MOP1.08 billion and MOP893 million respectively, up by 2% and 1% over 2007.
