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Cashiers in food and beverage stores earned an average of $12 per hour in May 2019
June 01, 2020
Grocery store employees are among the most visible of essential workers. In May 2019, over 2.9 million jobs in food and beverage stores were filled by workers ringing up purchases, stocking shelves, and preparing food to help customers put dinner on the table. Nine occupations accounted for 80 percent of employment in food and beverage stores. Cashiers (with employment of 865,150) and stockers and order fillers (543,790) were the largest occupations in food and beverage stores; these two occupations made up nearly half of jobs in this industry.
Employment and hourly mean wages for the largest occupations in food and beverage stores, May 2019
Occupation
Employment
Hourly mean wage
Management
General and operations managers
39,670
$39.17
Healthcare practitioners and technical
Pharmacy technicians
37,890
15.54
Pharmacists
24,480
61.00
Food preparation and serving related
Food preparation workers
189,980
12.72
Fast food and counter workers
130,100
12.44
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers
29,210
19.50
Cooks, short order
10,890
13.98
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
23,550
12.49
Sales and related
Cashiers
865,150
12.01
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers
155,030
21.89
Retail salespersons
129,400
13.45
Office and administrative support
Customer service representatives
102,020
13.16
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
47,360
20.83
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks
20,220
16.21
Office clerks, general
17,160
14.80
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks
16,800
17.34
Production
Butchers and meat cutters
107,960
16.20
Bakers
52,100
14.18
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers
18,720
23.90
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
18,170
13.90
Transportation and material moving
Stockers and order fillers
543,790
13.33
Packers and packagers, hand
116,420
11.41
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
32,200
13.48
First-line supervisors of transportation and material moving workers, except aircraft cargo handling supervisors
15,460
21.64
Light truck drivers
8,160
15.71
Other large occupations in food and beverage stores were food preparation workers (189,980), first-line supervisors of retail sales workers (155,030), fast food and counter workers (130,100), retail salespersons (129,400), hand packers and packagers (116,420), butchers and meat cutters (107,960), and customer service representatives (102,020).
Most jobs in food and beverage stores were relatively low paying, compared with other industries. The hourly mean wage in this industry was $14.68 while the hourly mean wage for all industries combined was $25.72. Half of jobs in food and beverage stores paid $12.36 per hour or less, and 90 percent paid $21.77 per hour or less.
Of the 25 occupations shown in the chart, only two—general and operations managers ($39.17) and pharmacists ($61.00)—had above-average wages. Cashiers in food and beverage stores had an hourly mean wage of $12.01, while stockers and order fillers earned $13.33. Food preparation workers ($12.72), first-line supervisors of retail sales workers ($21.89), and fast food and counter workers ($12.44) also had hourly mean wages below the all-industries average of $25.72.
United States Department of Labor
