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Employment in electronic shopping and electronic auction up over 400 percent since October 1990

December 29, 2016

The nonstore retailers industry includes mail-order houses, vending machine operators, home delivery sales, door-to-door sales, electronic shopping, and sales through portable stalls such as street vendors, except food. Within this industry, employment in the electronic shopping and electronic auctions industry increased over 400 percent from October 1990 to October 2016, from 45,000 to 229,000. Over the same period, employment in department stores, except discount, decreased 36 percent. This compared with an increase of 21 percent in employment for the retail trade industry.

Change in retail trade employment, October 1990 to October 2016, not seasonally adjusted
Industry October 1990 employment October 2016 employment(p) Percent change(p) Net change(p)

Retail trade

13,181,900 15,997,000 21.4 2,815,100

Electronic shopping and electronic auction

44,700 229,100 412.5 184,400

Used merchandise stores

58,400 186,400 219.2 128,000

Used car dealers

62,500 164,100 162.6 101,600

Pet and pet supplies stores

47,400 118,100 149.2 70,700

Cosmetic and beauty supply stores

61,500 147,400 139.7 85,900

Warehouse clubs and supercenters

658,300 1,493,000 126.8 834,700

Home centers

320,000 674,800 110.9 354,800

Recreational vehicle dealers

21,500 44,100 105.1 22,600

Children's and infants' clothing stores

34,800 69,900 100.9 35,100

Other home furnishing stores

97,100 189,600 95.3 92,500

Sporting goods stores

157,900 294,600 86.6 136,700

All other health and personal care stores

30,300 55,600 83.5 25,300

Hobby, toy, and game stores

99,800 166,400 66.7 66,600

Clothing accessories stores

37,800 61,000 61.4 23,200

Food (health) supplement stores

33,000 52,900 60.3 19,900

Motorcycle, boat, and other vehicle dealers

67,600 106,700 57.8 39,100

Family clothing stores

265,300 410,500 54.7 145,200

Optical goods stores

57,900 81,200 40.2 23,300

All other miscellaneous store retailers

140,500 192,500 37.0 52,000

Tire dealers

134,900 184,400 36.7 49,500

Automotive parts and accessories stores

286,100 375,200 31.1 89,100

Convenience stores

135,200 176,600 30.6 41,400

Electronics stores

355,500 459,900 29.4 104,400

New car dealers

918,300 1,138,500 24.0 220,200

Musical instrument and supplies stores

26,700 32,600 22.1 5,900

Nursery, garden, and farm supply stores

106,700 129,700 21.6 23,000

All other general merchandise stores

349,000 414,900 18.9 65,900

Pharmacies and drug stores

610,400 714,500 17.1 104,100

Other building material dealers

206,500 238,600 15.5 32,100

Other direct selling establishments

60,800 69,100 13.7 8,300

Mail-order houses

124,500 140,600 12.9 16,100

Beer, wine, and liquor stores

141,200 159,000 12.6 17,800

Fruit and vegetable markets

44,000 49,300 12.0 5,300

Supermarkets and other grocery stores

2,281,100 2,540,800 11.4 259,700

Discount department stores

768,100 842,100 9.6 74,000

Gasoline stations with convenience stores

759,700 824,100 8.5 64,400

Outdoor power equipment stores

28,600 29,400 2.8 800

Other specialty food stores

121,500 122,300 0.7 800

Shoe stores

215,300 215,300 0.0 0

Meat markets and fish and seafood markets

66,200 65,700 -0.8 -500

Art dealers

16,700 16,200 -3.0 -500

Furniture stores

239,300 227,600 -4.9 -11,700

Other clothing stores

130,500 123,600 -5.3 -6,900

Hardware stores

169,600 153,200 -9.7 -16,400

Gift, novelty, and sovenir stores

195,600 174,300 -10.9 -21,300

Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores

163,900 139,100 -15.1 -24,800

Women's clothing stores

355,600 286,000 -19.6 -69,600

Pain and wallpaper stores

51,400 40,700 -20.8 -10,700

Floor covering stores

88,900 70,200 -21.0 -18,700

Other gasoline stations

146,900 110,300 -24.9 -36,600

Book stores and news dealers

113,800 82,700 -27.3 -31,100

Office supplies and stationery stores

161,800 112,400 -30.5 -49,400

Department stores, except discount

739,000 473,400 -35.9 -265,600

Fuel dealers

119,900 73,700 -38.5 -46,200

Sewing, needlework, and piece goods stores

70,300 43,000 -38.8 -27,300

Household appliance stores

95,300 57,700 -39.5 -37,600

Men's clothing stores

91,400 54,000 -40.9 -37,400

Florists

115,200 59,800 -48.1 -55,400

Vending machine operators

80,200 38,600 -51.9 -41,600
Footnotes:

(p) = preliminary.

Within retail trade, other industries with an increase in employment greater than 100 percent from October 1990 to October 2016 included used merchandise stores (219 percent); used car dealers (163 percent); pet and pet supplies stores (149 percent); cosmetic and beauty supply stores (140 percent); warehouse clubs and supercenters (127 percent); home centers (111 percent); recreational vehicle dealers (105 percent); and children's and infants' clothing stores (101 percent).

From October 1990 to October 2016, other industries with a decrease in employment greater than 35 percent included vending machine operators (−52 percent); florists (−48 percent); men's clothing stores (−41 percent); household appliance stores (−40 percent); sewing, needlework, and piece goods stores (−39 percent); and fuel dealers (−39 percent).

These data are from the Current Employment Statistics program and are not seasonally adjusted. Data for October 2016 are preliminary. 

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment in electronic shopping and electronic auction up over 400 percent since October 1990 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2016/employment-in-electronic-shopping-and-electronic-auction-up-over-400-percent-since-october-1990.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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