VILNIUS — The Baltic states’ retail market turnover continues to shrink as the effects of the economic crisis are still reverberating in storefronts.

Eurostat figures released Nov. 5 show Latvia’s year-on-year decline for the month of September at -30.9 percent, the worst in European Union. Lithuania and Estonia were the next worst with -25.7 percent and -20.8 percent, respectively.

The order is reversed for monthly data. Lithuania had the largest monthly decrease in the EU at -7.6 percent, while Estonia’s was -2.4 percent and Latvia’s -1.6 percent.

In Latvia where the yearly decline was the most acute, the worst-performing retail sectors in September were clothing, shoes, and sporting goods. In Lithuania motor vehicle trade, one of the hardest-hit retail sectors, is still declining but at a lower rate than in previous months.