Taxable retail sales statewide in the second quarter of 2013 jumped 8.3 percent over the same period in 2012, according to a report released by the Washington State Department of Revenue. Total taxable retail sales between April 1 and June 30, 2013 reached $29 billion.

Retail trade during this year’s second quarter hit $13.1 billion, a 7.3 percent increase from the second quarter of 2012. Retail trade is a subset of total taxable retail sales, which includes retailers but excludes industries such as manufacturing, agriculture and construction.

Taxable sales rose in most categories in the second quarter:

• Construction increased to $4.7 billion (18.6 percent)
• New and used car sales hit $2.5 billion (13.6 percent)
• E-commerce and mail order purchases rose to $374.0 million (22.1 percent)
• Building materials, garden equipment and supplies grew to $1.5 billion (12.2 percent)
• General merchandise stores tallied $2.4 billion (2.9 percent)
• Accommodations and food services reached $3.4 billion (6.1 percent)

Taxable retail sales have nearly recovered to second quarter 2008 levels, when they last topped $29 billion dollars.

Second quarter 2013 results for the most populous counties

First quarter 2013 results for cities with the most sales

More detailed information about taxable retail sales and retail trade by county and city, as well as a breakdown of sales statewide by major industry, are posted on Revenue’s Quarterly Business Review page: http://dor.wa.gov/Content/AboutUs/StatisticsAndReports/2013/qbr213/default.aspx.