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Nonstore retail employment up 27.6 percent since January 2005

December 22, 2015

Traditional store and nonstore retailers employ many people to sell food, clothing, home furnishings, and general merchandise to consumers. Employment in nonstore retailers, such as electronic shopping and electronic auctions, mail order houses, vending machine operators, and direct selling establishments, increased 27.6 percent from January 2005 to November 2015. Over that period, this was the largest percentage increase among major retail trade industries.

Index of retail trade employment, seasonally adjusted, January 2005–November 2015 (January 2005 = 100)
Month Nonstore retailers General merchandise stores Total private Health and personal care stores Food and beverage stores Gasoline stations Retail trade Motor vehicle and parts dealers Sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores Building material and garden supply stores Clothing and clothing accessories stores Miscellaneous store retailers Electronics and appliance stores Furniture and home furnishing stores

Jan 2005

100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Feb 2005

100.4 100.3 100.2 100.6 99.9 100.2 100.2 100.2 99.7 100.9 100.5 99.9 99.8 100.2

Mar 2005

100.5 100.1 100.3 100.3 99.8 100.1 100.3 100.3 100.1 101.2 101.0 99.6 100.6 100.5

Apr 2005

100.8 100.6 100.6 100.9 100.2 100.2 100.6 100.3 100.5 101.2 101.5 99.7 100.7 100.8

May 2005

100.6 100.6 100.8 101.1 100.3 100.3 100.7 100.4 100.9 101.3 102.0 99.7 101.4 101.3

Jun 2005

100.6 100.8 101.0 101.2 100.6 99.8 101.0 100.4 101.2 101.9 102.6 100.2 101.7 100.9

Jul 2005

101.0 101.2 101.3 101.2 100.5 100.4 101.2 100.7 101.9 102.4 103.5 99.3 102.2 101.2

Aug 2005

101.7 101.4 101.4 101.6 100.1 100.8 101.3 100.7 101.9 102.7 103.8 99.5 102.8 101.2

Sep 2005

102.2 101.6 101.5 100.9 99.9 100.3 101.2 100.8 102.1 102.4 103.2 99.2 103.2 101.6

Oct 2005

101.8 101.4 101.6 101.6 100.1 100.5 101.1 100.5 102.3 102.2 102.7 98.8 103.2 101.5

Nov 2005

101.5 102.2 101.9 101.7 100.0 100.0 101.3 100.2 102.0 103.0 103.3 98.2 103.1 101.6

Dec 2005

101.3 101.4 102.0 102.0 100.1 100.0 101.3 100.2 102.0 103.8 103.6 98.3 103.5 101.4

Jan 2006

100.9 101.3 102.3 101.3 100.1 100.1 101.3 99.9 102.4 104.8 104.0 98.6 102.7 102.5

Feb 2006

100.3 101.4 102.5 101.1 100.1 100.0 101.4 100.0 102.7 105.1 104.1 98.4 103.2 102.8

Mar 2006

99.9 102.0 102.8 101.4 100.1 99.5 101.5 100.0 102.5 105.8 103.5 98.6 102.8 103.0

Apr 2006

99.5 101.4 102.9 101.1 100.4 99.9 101.3 99.9 102.5 105.9 102.9 98.3 102.0 103.5

May 2006

99.8 100.9 102.9 101.6 100.0 98.9 101.1 99.8 102.3 105.9 102.9 97.9 101.9 103.5

Jun 2006

100.1 100.5 103.0 101.6 99.9 99.5 101.1 99.9 102.3 105.7 104.3 97.2 101.9 103.6

Jul 2006

99.9 100.3 103.1 101.9 100.1 99.6 101.1 99.8 102.0 106.1 104.6 96.9 101.5 103.3

Aug 2006

100.2 100.5 103.3 102.1 100.3 99.0 101.2 99.8 102.5 106.1 105.3 96.6 100.9 103.1

Sep 2006

100.8 100.8 103.4 102.5 100.3 99.1 101.3 99.8 102.2 106.1 105.7 96.4 100.3 102.6

Oct 2006

101.9 101.2 103.4 102.6 100.3 98.9 101.4 99.9 101.9 106.1 106.0 96.4 99.8 102.6

Nov 2006

102.8 101.3 103.5 103.1 100.4 99.1 101.6 100.0 103.6 105.9 106.8 96.4 99.2 101.6

Dec 2006

102.2 100.9 103.7 102.9 100.6 99.1 101.6 100.2 103.5 105.4 108.0 96.7 98.2 102.1

Jan 2007

101.7 102.3 103.9 103.8 100.4 99.2 102.0 100.2 104.6 105.5 107.4 96.2 100.9 102.1

Feb 2007

101.3 102.8 104.0 104.3 100.6 99.1 102.2 100.2 104.8 105.6 107.3 96.1 101.5 102.3

Mar 2007

101.4 104.2 104.1 104.4 100.6 99.6 102.5 100.2 104.9 105.2 107.7 96.2 101.6 102.1

Apr 2007

101.3 103.3 104.2 104.9 100.7 99.3 102.4 100.3 105.3 105.3 108.1 95.7 102.3 102.0

May 2007

101.4 104.0 104.3 104.9 100.7 99.3 102.5 100.0 105.6 105.2 108.2 95.7 101.8 101.8

Jun 2007

101.4 103.8 104.3 105.1 100.8 99.2 102.4 99.9 105.3 105.0 108.0 95.7 101.4 100.9

Jul 2007

101.8 103.8 104.3 105.0 100.8 99.1 102.3 99.6 105.8 104.9 108.2 95.8 101.8 100.1

Aug 2007

101.7 103.7 104.3 105.7 101.1 98.9 102.3 99.7 104.9 105.1 108.2 95.6 101.1 99.9

Sep 2007

101.4 104.3 104.3 105.9 101.3 99.6 102.4 99.6 105.5 103.5 108.1 95.7 101.0 98.8

Oct 2007

101.6 104.7 104.3 106.1 101.3 99.1 102.4 99.6 105.8 103.2 108.2 95.2 101.0 98.6

Nov 2007

102.6 105.0 104.4 106.7 101.7 98.8 102.8 99.6 105.9 102.7 110.3 94.9 101.9 99.7

Dec 2007

104.2 105.4 104.5 106.9 101.8 97.9 102.8 99.4 105.8 102.3 109.7 95.1 101.7 99.4

Jan 2008

102.9 105.5 104.5 107.4 102.0 98.3 102.8 99.5 107.4 102.0 108.5 95.5 101.0 98.7

Feb 2008

103.5 105.3 104.4 107.0 102.1 98.4 102.5 99.0 106.6 101.5 107.9 94.6 101.4 97.8

Mar 2008

103.5 105.3 104.3 107.0 102.2 98.5 102.3 98.9 105.6 100.6 108.2 94.3 101.8 96.6

Apr 2008

103.4 104.8 104.1 106.8 101.9 97.6 101.8 98.3 104.2 99.4 107.6 94.2 101.8 95.9

May 2008

102.9 104.2 103.9 106.7 101.8 96.9 101.5 97.9 105.0 99.8 107.0 93.7 101.4 95.2

Jun 2008

101.4 104.1 103.7 106.4 101.7 97.2 101.2 97.2 105.0 99.6 106.5 93.4 100.7 94.2

Jul 2008

101.8 104.4 103.5 106.5 101.8 96.8 101.0 96.1 104.1 99.0 106.5 93.1 99.9 93.6

Aug 2008

101.3 104.0 103.2 106.0 101.4 96.5 100.6 95.1 105.6 99.2 106.6 92.7 98.9 92.4

Sep 2008

101.4 103.6 102.8 106.0 101.3 95.8 100.1 94.2 105.4 99.2 105.4 92.5 97.7 91.3

Oct 2008

101.4 103.1 102.4 105.5 101.5 95.9 99.7 92.6 105.8 99.2 104.4 92.4 97.3 89.4

Nov 2008

101.0 102.6 101.7 105.2 101.4 96.0 98.9 90.9 104.5 98.3 103.1 91.3 95.4 86.9

Dec 2008

98.7 102.8 101.1 105.2 101.1 95.8 98.1 89.4 103.5 97.3 101.6 89.9 94.3 84.9

Jan 2009

100.3 102.4 100.3 104.4 101.0 95.6 97.6 88.5 102.9 96.2 100.9 89.0 93.3 83.4

Feb 2009

99.3 102.0 99.7 104.7 100.9 95.6 97.1 87.7 101.4 95.2 100.7 88.4 93.5 81.7

Mar 2009

98.8 102.4 99.0 104.7 100.9 95.4 96.5 86.6 101.0 93.1 99.5 87.2 89.5 80.5

Apr 2009

98.5 102.2 98.3 104.6 100.6 95.1 96.0 85.9 100.3 92.1 98.9 86.7 89.5 79.5

May 2009

98.4 102.6 98.0 104.6 100.8 94.8 96.1 85.5 100.3 92.2 99.1 86.8 89.7 78.5

Jun 2009

97.7 102.5 97.6 104.8 101.0 94.8 95.9 85.2 99.6 92.3 98.8 86.5 89.5 78.0

Jul 2009

97.5 102.3 97.4 104.5 100.7 94.8 95.7 85.1 99.1 91.9 98.5 85.7 89.3 77.9

Aug 2009

97.4 102.1 97.2 104.5 100.6 95.0 95.6 85.1 99.1 91.3 98.2 85.7 89.7 77.6

Sep 2009

97.4 101.9 97.0 104.1 100.3 94.7 95.4 84.8 101.0 91.1 97.9 85.0 89.9 77.2

Oct 2009

97.2 101.6 96.8 104.2 100.1 94.7 95.0 84.5 97.1 90.7 97.4 84.9 88.5 76.9

Nov 2009

97.1 101.6 96.8 104.1 99.9 94.3 94.9 84.4 97.6 90.8 97.5 85.0 88.1 77.2

Dec 2009

97.0 100.5 96.6 104.2 99.5 94.2 94.5 84.6 98.3 90.8 96.3 84.8 88.8 76.9

Jan 2010

96.3 101.3 96.6 104.5 100.1 94.1 95.0 84.4 98.6 90.8 98.0 84.8 89.3 76.8

Feb 2010

96.7 101.8 96.5 104.0 99.8 94.0 95.0 84.3 99.5 91.0 98.2 84.7 90.2 77.0

Mar 2010

97.3 102.2 96.6 103.9 99.7 93.9 95.2 84.4 98.2 91.3 98.9 84.6 90.3 77.0

Apr 2010

97.8 102.0 96.8 103.9 99.8 94.1 95.2 84.7 98.3 91.1 99.1 84.4 90.0 76.7

May 2010

98.0 102.6 96.9 104.2 99.7 94.1 95.3 85.0 97.8 91.0 98.6 84.0 90.3 76.8

Jun 2010

98.5 103.3 97.0 104.2 99.7 94.0 95.3 84.9 97.8 89.9 98.5 83.9 90.3 77.0

Jul 2010

98.4 104.1 97.1 103.9 99.7 94.5 95.4 85.0 97.3 89.8 98.2 84.0 90.7 76.5

Aug 2010

98.3 104.1 97.2 103.7 99.7 94.2 95.4 85.3 97.1 90.1 97.6 83.5 91.4 76.4

Sep 2010

98.6 104.3 97.3 103.7 99.7 94.4 95.5 85.7 97.6 90.0 97.5 83.4 92.4 76.8

Oct 2010

98.7 104.3 97.5 103.7 99.8 94.4 95.7 86.0 97.9 89.9 98.1 83.7 92.8 77.2

Nov 2010

98.3 103.7 97.6 103.7 99.7 94.4 95.5 86.5 98.3 89.7 97.3 83.8 92.6 76.9

Dec 2010

98.7 103.9 97.7 103.5 99.8 94.5 95.5 86.8 98.7 90.1 96.0 84.0 91.7 77.2

Jan 2011

99.1 104.8 97.8 103.4 99.8 94.8 95.9 87.0 98.0 90.4 97.5 84.3 92.1 77.0

Feb 2011

99.5 105.5 98.0 103.3 99.8 94.8 96.1 87.3 98.5 90.3 97.3 84.3 92.3 77.0

Mar 2011

99.9 104.8 98.2 103.3 99.9 95.0 96.2 87.6 98.3 91.3 97.2 85.0 92.5 77.1

Apr 2011

100.1 105.8 98.5 103.6 100.4 95.2 96.6 87.9 98.0 92.2 97.7 84.9 93.3 77.1

May 2011

101.1 105.6 98.6 103.8 100.2 95.5 96.6 88.2 97.8 91.6 98.0 84.9 93.3 76.9

Jun 2011

100.5 106.2 98.8 103.8 100.3 95.8 96.9 88.3 97.7 91.5 98.4 85.3 93.5 76.9

Jul 2011

100.8 106.6 99.0 104.3 100.3 95.8 97.1 88.7 98.6 91.1 98.0 86.8 93.3 77.2

Aug 2011

101.5 106.5 99.1 104.3 100.4 95.8 97.1 88.9 98.7 91.7 98.6 85.3 92.3 76.9

Sep 2011

101.6 106.6 99.3 104.6 100.5 95.7 97.3 89.1 99.1 91.5 99.7 85.9 91.2 77.0

Oct 2011

102.0 106.7 99.5 104.3 100.5 96.0 97.3 89.4 97.4 91.7 99.8 85.6 90.1 77.3

Nov 2011

102.7 107.0 99.7 104.5 100.4 96.5 97.4 89.6 97.1 92.0 100.0 85.2 89.9 77.2

Dec 2011

102.6 107.2 99.9 104.3 100.6 96.3 97.3 89.8 94.8 92.0 99.9 85.7 89.5 77.0

Jan 2012

103.1 108.7 100.2 104.9 100.9 96.4 97.8 90.0 94.5 92.4 99.2 86.4 89.6 77.0

Feb 2012

103.3 107.0 100.4 105.3 100.9 96.3 97.7 90.4 96.7 92.8 99.6 87.0 89.9 76.8

Mar 2012

103.0 105.9 100.6 105.6 101.1 96.7 97.8 90.5 97.9 94.0 100.0 87.0 90.0 76.8

Apr 2012

103.1 106.4 100.7 105.6 101.1 96.9 97.9 90.5 98.8 94.4 99.7 87.3 90.3 76.6

May 2012

103.4 105.7 100.9 105.3 101.4 96.8 97.9 90.5 99.7 93.9 99.9 87.7 89.4 76.9

Jun 2012

103.7 105.0 100.9 105.4 101.5 97.0 97.7 90.7 100.4 93.6 99.6 87.4 88.9 76.8

Jul 2012

104.2 104.7 101.0 105.7 101.6 96.8 97.7 90.4 99.8 93.8 99.4 87.4 88.5 76.9

Aug 2012

104.4 104.5 101.2 105.9 101.8 97.1 97.7 90.8 99.9 93.4 99.4 88.1 87.6 77.1

Sep 2012

104.4 104.5 101.3 105.9 101.9 97.2 97.9 91.1 99.6 93.7 100.5 88.9 86.9 76.9

Oct 2012

104.3 104.5 101.5 106.8 102.1 97.3 98.1 91.7 98.7 93.7 101.7 88.7 85.4 76.9

Nov 2012

104.4 104.6 101.7 106.7 102.4 97.7 98.5 91.9 98.6 94.1 104.2 88.6 87.3 77.2

Dec 2012

105.2 104.3 102.0 106.6 102.7 98.1 98.4 92.0 97.6 94.5 102.1 88.7 87.0 77.1

Jan 2013

105.8 104.2 102.2 106.7 103.0 98.0 98.6 92.4 99.2 94.7 102.3 88.1 88.1 77.5

Feb 2013

106.5 104.3 102.4 107.0 103.1 98.7 98.7 92.7 99.8 95.4 101.3 88.3 86.7 77.8

Mar 2013

106.9 104.4 102.6 107.2 103.1 98.8 98.7 93.0 99.8 95.3 100.7 87.9 85.8 77.6

Apr 2013

107.0 105.0 102.7 107.8 103.3 98.9 98.8 93.1 100.0 95.4 99.3 88.4 85.7 78.1

May 2013

107.4 105.2 102.9 107.5 103.6 99.4 99.0 93.2 100.2 95.6 99.6 88.7 85.9 78.2

Jun 2013

107.7 105.2 103.1 107.2 103.8 99.6 99.3 93.5 101.0 96.0 100.3 89.6 85.7 78.2

Jul 2013

108.3 105.4 103.2 107.5 104.1 100.2 99.6 93.8 101.8 96.4 100.5 89.5 85.5 78.5

Aug 2013

109.1 105.5 103.4 107.9 104.6 100.1 99.8 94.1 102.1 96.8 100.7 89.3 86.1 77.6

Sep 2013

109.7 105.8 103.6 108.6 104.8 100.3 100.0 94.5 102.5 97.2 100.0 89.0 86.3 77.8

Oct 2013

110.8 105.9 103.8 108.5 105.0 100.9 100.2 94.7 104.0 97.7 99.2 89.0 87.3 78.1

Nov 2013

111.0 106.3 104.1 108.1 104.8 100.7 100.4 95.1 105.1 97.9 100.3 88.8 87.2 78.3

Dec 2013

111.9 106.4 104.2 108.6 105.4 100.6 100.8 95.6 106.5 97.8 101.0 88.7 87.7 78.7

Jan 2014

112.9 106.5 104.3 108.3 105.3 100.8 100.7 96.0 103.0 97.9 100.1 89.2 87.6 78.6

Feb 2014

113.6 106.4 104.5 106.9 105.6 100.7 100.6 96.2 102.2 97.9 99.8 89.4 85.9 78.9

Mar 2014

114.5 106.4 104.7 107.9 105.8 100.9 100.7 96.3 103.5 97.7 99.4 89.9 85.6 78.9

Apr 2014

116.3 106.7 105.0 107.6 106.2 101.0 101.0 96.6 103.7 98.2 100.0 90.1 84.4 79.0

May 2014

116.2 106.9 105.2 108.2 106.1 101.4 101.1 96.8 103.5 98.0 99.9 90.4 84.2 79.1

Jun 2014

117.7 107.0 105.4 108.2 106.4 101.3 101.4 97.5 103.1 98.6 99.7 90.2 85.1 79.3

Jul 2014

117.9 107.3 105.7 108.3 106.6 101.2 101.5 97.5 102.7 98.9 99.8 90.6 85.4 79.7

Aug 2014

118.2 107.6 105.8 108.3 106.0 101.6 101.5 97.8 102.2 98.7 99.2 90.9 85.7 80.4

Sep 2014

118.7 107.6 106.1 108.3 106.8 101.6 101.7 97.9 103.2 98.8 98.7 91.0 86.1 80.8

Oct 2014

119.3 108.0 106.3 108.5 107.1 101.9 101.9 97.9 103.7 98.8 98.3 91.5 85.6 80.8

Nov 2014

120.4 107.8 106.6 109.1 107.1 102.2 102.3 98.7 106.8 99.2 99.8 90.8 85.5 80.5

Dec 2014

119.7 108.0 106.9 108.7 107.3 102.3 102.3 99.1 106.0 99.5 99.1 90.8 85.7 80.2

Jan 2015

121.2 108.3 107.1 109.0 107.5 102.8 102.5 99.5 104.0 99.8 99.2 90.9 86.6 80.6

Feb 2015

122.1 108.2 107.3 109.0 107.5 103.1 102.7 99.8 103.6 100.2 99.5 90.6 86.7 81.4

Mar 2015

123.3 108.6 107.4 109.1 107.5 103.3 102.9 100.0 103.5 100.4 99.8 90.8 87.1 81.3

Apr 2015

123.8 108.7 107.6 109.0 107.7 103.8 102.9 100.0 103.1 100.2 99.5 90.9 87.4 81.5

May 2015

124.6 108.9 107.8 108.9 107.8 103.5 103.2 100.6 102.9 100.4 100.3 91.1 87.7 81.9

Jun 2015

125.1 109.3 108.0 109.2 108.1 104.0 103.4 100.7 102.2 100.3 100.7 91.2 87.9 82.3

Jul 2015

125.6 109.5 108.2 109.1 108.1 104.0 103.6 101.3 102.6 100.5 100.8 91.3 88.5 82.3

Aug 2015

126.0 109.6 108.3 108.8 108.1 104.2 103.6 101.3 101.6 100.6 101.3 91.1 88.5 82.2

Sep 2015

126.4 109.9 108.5 108.8 108.1 104.2 103.7 101.6 101.8 100.6 100.2 91.4 88.8 82.1

Oct 2015(p)

127.0 110.3 108.7 108.5 108.3 104.6 104.0 102.0 101.3 100.9 101.3 91.8 88.7 81.4

Nov 2015(p)

127.6 110.7 108.9 108.7 108.4 104.6 104.2 102.5 102.1 101.2 100.3 92.5 88.9 81.5
Footnotes:

(p) = preliminary.

From January 2005 to November 2015, employment in retail trade increased 4.2 percent, compared with 8.9 percent for all private industries. Among retail trade industries, employment also increased in general merchandise stores (10.7 percent), health and personal care stores (8.7 percent), food and beverage stores (8.4 percent) and gasoline stations (4.6 percent). Industries with little or no gain in employment were motor vehicle and parts dealers; sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores; building material and garden supply stores; and clothing and clothing accessories stores.

While employment decreased in each of the major retail trade industries during the 2007–09 recession, November 2015 employment in most retail trade industries was above January 2005 levels. Employment remained below January 2005 levels in furniture and home furnishing stores (−18.5 percent), electronics and appliance stores (−11.1 percent), and miscellaneous store retailers (−7.5 percent).

These data are derived from the Current Employment Statistics program. Industry employment indexes are derived by dividing seasonally adjusted employment for each month by the corresponding industry’s seasonally adjusted employment for January 2005. Data for the most recent 2 months are preliminary. To learn more, see our data retrieval tool for national employment data by industry.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Nonstore retail employment up 27.6 percent since January 2005 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/nonstore-retail-employment-up-27-point-6-percent-since-january-2005.htm (visited March 18, 2024).

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