Taxable retail sales increased 5.4 percent to $28.8 billion during the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period in 2011, the Washington State Department of Revenue reported Tuesday, Jan. 8.

Retail trade, a subset of all sales that excludes non-retail sectors such as construction and services, rose 7.3 percent to $13.1 billion.

Among major industries, construction was up 6.1 percent to $4.6 billion, accommodations and food services increased 5.6 percent to $3.5 billion, motor vehicles and parts rose 15.7 percent to $3.0 billion, and general merchandise stores were up 4.7 percent to $2.6 billion.