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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released new figures for the retail sector as of November, 2011. These figures look at wages and employment rates, job gains and losses, and an overall snapshot of how the industry is doing as we enter into the holiday spending season.
The BLS's North American Industry Classification System considers the retail industry a part of the trade, transportation and utilities supersector. Retail is the last step in the merchandise-distribution process, wherein goods are sold in small quantities to the general public. The NAICS divides the retail sector into two groups: store and non-store retailers.
The former, store retailers, is what most people think of when they think of retail. The traditional shop on the street or in the mall with an inviting display in the window, plenty of clean new merchandise to pick up and play with, and friendly faces eager to help you find what you are looking for or tell you about the latest sale. Many store retailers also partake in after-sale services, like installation and repair.
Non-store retailers serve the same purpose as store retailers, but have a different approach. They don't rely on brick-and-mortar establishments and instead use the TV (as with infomercials), postal service (as with direct mail), door-to-door sales ("Avon calling!") and a number of other creative ways to reach consumers that don't involve driving to a mall.
Data obtained from employer, establishment and household surveys that was released by the BLS in November, 2011, indicates that overall retail employment has been slightly rising over the past four months (July-Oct.). This seasonally adjusted info reports that total retail employment went from 14,579,000 in July up to 14,612,000 in October, an increase in over 33,000 jobs. Along those same lines, the unemployment rate has gone down from 10 percent in July to 9.1 percent in October.
Looking back at 2010, the ups and downs of retail job gains and losses were pretty topsy-turvy, but ended on an up. In the first and third quarters of 2010, there were more job losses than job gains (the largest margin being by 96,000 more losses in the third quarter). However, in the second and fourth quarters of 2010, the situation was reversed. Not only that, but the margins were wider, with the largest being by 123,000 more job gains than job losses in the second quarter.
With respects to earnings, the figures are relatively stable but indicate a slight dip in overall wages. For all jobs in the retail sector, the average hourly wage went from $15.90 in July 2011 to $15.81 in October. The average weekly hours stayed pretty much the same, dropping only one tenth of an hour, from 31.4 in July to 31.3 in October.
However, the average hourly earnings on the lower end of the spectrum -- those for only production and nonsupervisory employees in the industry -- were slightly on the rise. The average wage for these workers went from $13.48 in July to $13.56 in October. Average weekly hours held steady at 30.5.
The BLS's North American Industry Classification System considers the retail industry a part of the trade, transportation and utilities supersector. Retail is the last step in the merchandise-distribution process, wherein goods are sold in small quantities to the general public. The NAICS divides the retail sector into two groups: store and non-store retailers.
The former, store retailers, is what most people think of when they think of retail. The traditional shop on the street or in the mall with an inviting display in the window, plenty of clean new merchandise to pick up and play with, and friendly faces eager to help you find what you are looking for or tell you about the latest sale. Many store retailers also partake in after-sale services, like installation and repair.
Non-store retailers serve the same purpose as store retailers, but have a different approach. They don't rely on brick-and-mortar establishments and instead use the TV (as with infomercials), postal service (as with direct mail), door-to-door sales ("Avon calling!") and a number of other creative ways to reach consumers that don't involve driving to a mall.
Data obtained from employer, establishment and household surveys that was released by the BLS in November, 2011, indicates that overall retail employment has been slightly rising over the past four months (July-Oct.). This seasonally adjusted info reports that total retail employment went from 14,579,000 in July up to 14,612,000 in October, an increase in over 33,000 jobs. Along those same lines, the unemployment rate has gone down from 10 percent in July to 9.1 percent in October.
Looking back at 2010, the ups and downs of retail job gains and losses were pretty topsy-turvy, but ended on an up. In the first and third quarters of 2010, there were more job losses than job gains (the largest margin being by 96,000 more losses in the third quarter). However, in the second and fourth quarters of 2010, the situation was reversed. Not only that, but the margins were wider, with the largest being by 123,000 more job gains than job losses in the second quarter.
With respects to earnings, the figures are relatively stable but indicate a slight dip in overall wages. For all jobs in the retail sector, the average hourly wage went from $15.90 in July 2011 to $15.81 in October. The average weekly hours stayed pretty much the same, dropping only one tenth of an hour, from 31.4 in July to 31.3 in October.
However, the average hourly earnings on the lower end of the spectrum -- those for only production and nonsupervisory employees in the industry -- were slightly on the rise. The average wage for these workers went from $13.48 in July to $13.56 in October. Average weekly hours held steady at 30.5.
Last Updated: 30/11/2011 - 9:05 PM
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