Internal trade
Statistical sources
Internal trade was first comprehensively covered by the 1936 census of establishments. In 1948 a representative census was taken, primarily aimed at revealing the cost and profit structure. Complete surveys of establishments engaged in wholesale and retail trade were again carried out in connection with the censuses of establishments in 1953 and 1963.
Since 1956 Statistics Norway has compiled statistics of the distributive trades comprising wholesale and retail trade and also commission brokers. Up until 1964 these statistics were based on figures on employment, turnover, stocks, etc. submitted by all large establishments and by a sample selection of smaller businesses. Since 1965 the annual statistics of wholesale and retail trade have been compiled on the basis of the Register of Establishments, which contains annually updated information on i.a. location, trade classification, employment and turnover. These figures are published annually in NOS Varehandelsstatistikk (Wholesale and Retail Trade Statistics).
Since 1936 Statistics Norway has compiled a monthly index of retail sales showing changes in the value of retail sales in relation to an average base period. The price index for domestic first sale (pre-viously known as the wholesale price index) has been compiled since 1891. This index shows move-ments in first sale prices in the domestic market for Norwegian products and for imported goods. These statistics are now based on information supplied by a sample of companies engaged in offshore oil drilling, mining, manufacturing, energy supply and wholesale trade. The price index for retail trade is calculated on the basis of the consumer price index.
Development trends
From 1956 until 1992 overall employment in domestic trade rose by 52 per cent, from 151 500 persons in 1956 to 229 600 in 1992. Although retail trade has at all times had the highest employment figures, it is clearly the wholesale sector which has experienced the greater growth. In 1956 wholesale trade gave employment to 48 000 people. By 1992 this figure had risen to 104 500, an increase of 119 per cent. During the same period employment in the retail sector rose by 18 per cent from 104 000 in 1956 to 122 000 in 1992.
In 1956 the sale of food, beverages, tobacco and alcohol accounted for no less than 54 per cent of those employed in retail trade. By 1992 this figure had fallen to 34 per cent. Employment in textiles and clothing has remained fairly stable throughout the period, while overall employment figures for the remaining sectors of retail trade have increased from 27 per cent in 1956 to 52 per cent in 1992.
Turnover in the wholesale and retail trades has increased at a much higher rate than employment figures. On a fixed-price basis, turnover increased by 275 per cent from 1956 to 1992. Here too the greatest growth is to be found in the wholesale
sector.