Guam's economy generated $7.7 billion in revenue in 2012, up 23.9 percent from $6.2 billion in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 Economic Census of Island Areas: Geographic Area Series for Guam.
The five-year economic census provides the most authoritative and comprehensive source of information about the entire U.S. economy, including U.S. territories like Guam, which is located in the western Pacific Ocean, and provides benchmark data for the gross domestic product. In 2012, Guam had 3,099 businesses with paid employees. These businesses employed 53,579 people and accounted for $1.3 billion in annual payroll. By comparison, in 2007 Guam had 3,143 employer businesses, with 52,394 employees and an annual payroll of $1.1 billion.
The 2012 Economic Census data include statistics for Guam and its 19 election districts for businesses with paid employees.
Other findings:
In 2012, the retail trade sector in Guam accounted for $2.0 billion in sales, employed 8,879 people and paid $184 million in annual payroll. This compared with 2007, when the sector saw sales of $1.6 billion, employed 8,219 people and had an annual payroll of $150 million.
The largest share of retail sales in Guam was found in food and beverage stores ($406 million in 2012, up from $327 million in 2007).
In 2012, the accommodation and food services sector employed the most people (12,575). In 2007, this sector employed 11,477 people.
Businesses in the Tamuning election district reported $4.6 billion in total sales — about 59 percent of Guam's total sales in 2012. Sales for this district totaled $3.6 billion in 2007.
Guam had 203 businesses with 50 or more employees in 2012, representing 6.5 percent of all businesses. These businesses accounted for 55 percent ($4.3 billion) of total sales. In 2007, there were 193 businesses this size, accounting for $3.6 billion in total sales.
The statistics for Guam are available through the Census Bureau's American FactFinder, an online search tool that allows users to access, filter, manipulate and extract statistics. Statistics for the Northern Mariana Islands were also released today. Statistics for American Samoa will be released May 6; the U.S. Virgin Islands data will be released July 15; and Puerto Rico statistics will be released next year.
