December 2009 

Occupational Employment 

Statistics (OES) Highlights

An Occupational Comparison of Selected Retail 

Trade Industries 

The holidays are here, a time when the retail trade sector traditionally attracts more 

shoppers and hires more workers. With the current recession, job seekers this 

season are especially eager to find stores that have the most jobs and the highest 

wages. While department stores are a popular destination for work during the 

Chart 1: Largest occupations and their mean hourly wages in

department stores and other general merchandise stores, May 2008

$9.89

$8.63

$9.71

$15.84

$9.55

$14.62

$10.66

$10.75

$12.49

$50.75

$9.73

$9.19

$10.09

$15.67

$10.66

$12.88

$12.21

$14.22

$12.82

$53.37

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Retail salespersons

Cashiers

Stock clerks and order

fillers

First‐line

supervisors/managers

of retail sales workers

Laborers and freight,

stock, and material

movers, hand

First‐line

supervisors/managers,

office/admin support

workers

Customer service

representatives

Shipping, receiving,

and traffic clerks

Pharmacy technicians

Pharmacists

Percent of industry employment

Department stores

Other general merchandise stores
2

holidays, people have increasingly turned to other types of stores for jobs over the 

past few years. Higher wages and growing employment may draw some job seekers 

to warehouse clubs and supercenters, for instance, while more diverse employment 

opportunities may attract others to certain occupations in electronic shopping and 

mail-order houses. 

From December 2003 to December 2008, employment decreased 7 percent at 

department stores, while it increased 19 percent and 9 percent in other general 

merchandise stores and electronic shopping and mail-order houses, respectively. The 

shifting habits of shoppers toward these two industries, which include such stores as 

warehouse clubs and online shopping outlets, may have implications for the types of 

jobs available in the retail trade sector. The recent recession has amplified the 

employment shift away from department stores and toward other general 

merchandise stores. Between December 2003 and December 2007, employment 

decreased an average of 0.2 percent annually in department stores and increased an 

average of 3 percent annually in other general merchandise stores. From December 

2007 to December 2008, this shift became more pronounced, with employment 

decreasing 6 percent in department stores and increasing 4 percent in other general 

merchandise stores. 

This highlight compares occupational employment and wages in three large groups of 

retail employers. In particular, two groups of retailers—department stores and other 

general merchandise stores—have similar occupational makeups, while the third—

electronic shopping and mail-order houses—has a distinct occupational composition. 

In addition, wages for many individual occupations varied across these industries. 

Chart 1 shows the largest occupations in department stores and other general 

merchandise stores as of May 2008, along with their mean hourly wages. (See page 

7 to view the data from chart 1 in table format.) Employment totaled nearly 1.6 

million in department stores and approximately 1.5 million in other general 

merchandise stores. Most of the largest occupations in each industry were similar, 

with the same 6 occupations making up over 75 percent of employment in both 

industries. While two sales occupations combined (retail salespersons and cashiers) 

made up 46 percent of employment in each industry, department stores had more 

retail salespersons and fewer cashiers. Differences in the employment composition 
3

were found in stock clerks and order fillers, which accounted for 20 percent of 

employment in department stores and 13 percent in other general merchandise 

stores, and in first-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers, which 

accounted for 6 percent and 9 percent of employment in the industries, respectively. 

Chart 2: Largest occupations in electronic shopping and mail‐order

houses and their mean hourly wages, May 2008

$12.51

$21.32

$10.51

$12.54

$11.69

$13.78

$11.04

$12.62

$11.93

$12.91

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

Customer service

representatives

Order clerks

Shipping, receiving,

and traffic clerks

Stock clerks and order

fillers

Retail salespersons

Telemarketers

Laborers and freight,

stock, and material

movers, hand

Packers and packagers,

hand

First‐line

supervisors/managers,

office/admin support

workers

O ffice clerks, general

Percent o f industry employment

(See page 8 to view these data in table format.) 

While traditional brick-and-mortar retailers had more homogeneous staffing 

patterns, the largest occupations in electronic shopping and mail-order houses 

differed markedly, as evident in chart 2. Compared to department stores and other 

general merchandise stores, employment in electronic shopping and mail-order 

houses was much smaller overall and showed more occupational variation. Total May 

2008 employment in these nonstore retailers was slightly more than 257,000, less 

than 2 percent of employment in the entire retail trade sector. Furthermore, mean 

hourly wages for the largest occupations tended to be higher than wages in other 

retail industries. 
4

Electronic shopping and mail-order houses also showed greater dispersion in their 

largest occupations: while the two largest occupations in department stores and 

other general merchandise stores accounted for almost half of their respective 

industry employment, the two largest occupations (customer service representatives 

and order clerks) in electronic shopping and mail-order houses accounted for roughly 

one-quarter. Among the ten occupations shown, the three smallest (hand packers 

and packagers, first-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support 

workers, and general office clerks) made up 8 percent of industry employment. Still, 

six office and administrative support occupations made up nearly 41 percent of total 

industry employment. 

Chart 3: Mean hourly wages for six of the largest occupations shared by

the three selected retail trade industries, May 2008

$0

$5

$10

$15

$20

$25

First‐line

supervisors/managers,

office/admin support

workers

Shipping, receiving,

and traffic clerks

Customer service

representatives

Retail salespersons

Laborers and freight,

stock, and material

movers, hand

Stock clerks and order

fillers

Mean hourly wage

Department stores

Other general

merchandise stores

Electronic shopping and

mail‐order houses

(See page 8 to view these data in table format.) 

Chart 3 shows how wages compared for six of the largest occupations in the three 

selected retail trade industries. Generally, electronic shopping and mail-order houses 

had higher average wages than the two traditional retail industries, in part because 
5

they paid higher wages for the same occupations, and in part because their 

employment was concentrated in higher-paying occupations. Conversely, wages for 

department stores and other general merchandise stores were more similar, 

although department stores usually had the lowest wages of all three industries. 

Among the traditional retailers, mean hourly wages varied slightly across the two 

industries. Department stores had lower wages in 7 of the 10 largest occupations, 

with a more pronounced difference in wages among the smaller occupations. Wages 

for retail salespersons and cashiers, for example, were just 16 cents higher (2 

percent) and 56 cents lower (6 percent) in department stores, respectively. Likewise, 

the mean hourly wage for laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand 

($10.66) was only 12 percent higher in other general merchandise stores than in 

department stores ($9.55). In contrast, shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks, a 

relatively small occupation, earned 32 percent more on average ($14.22) in other 

general merchandise stores than they did in department stores ($10.75). The mean 

hourly wage for all occupations was $11.57 in other general merchandise stores and 

$11.34 in department stores. 

For the most part, electronic shopping and mail-order houses had the highest wages 

among the largest occupations shared by all three industries. For instance, retail 

salespersons earned an average of $13.78 per hour in this industry, approximately 

39 percent and 42 percent more than their average wages in department stores and 

other general merchandise stores, respectively. Similarly, with a mean hourly wage 

of $21.32, first-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support 

workers earned 46 percent more on average than they did in department stores 

($14.62) and 66 percent more than in other general merchandise stores ($12.88). In 

addition, occupations with above average wages, such as graphic designers and 

computer specialists, were more highly concentrated in this industry than in other 

retailers. In total, the mean hourly wage for all occupations in electronic shopping 

and mail-order houses ($18.43) was almost 60 percent higher than that in 

department stores ($11.34) and other general merchandise stores ($11.57). 

Data on changes in industry employment over time are from the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages (www.bls.gov/cew/). Occupational employment and wage 

estimates for over 450 industry classifications at the national level, including the 
6

retail trade industries discussed in this highlight, can be found at 

www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm. Complete OES data are available from the 

OES home page at www.bls.gov/oes. This highlight was prepared by Joseph W. 

Kane; for more information, please contact the OES program at 

www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm#contact. 
7

Table 1. Largest occupations and their mean hourly wages in department stores 

and other general merchandise stores, May 2008 

Department stores Other general merchandise stores 

Occupation 

Employment

Percent of 

industry 

employment

Mean 

hourly 

wage 

Employment 

Percent of 

industry 

employment 

Mean 

hourly 

wage 

Retail salespersons 509,830 31.9 $9.89 344,530 23.0 $9.73 

Cashiers 231,320 14.5 8.63 346,550 23.1 9.19 

Stock clerks and 

order fillers 325,390 20.4 9.71 197,270 13.2 10.09 

First-line 

supervisors/managers 

of retail sales workers 

92,770 5.8 15.84 136,660 9.1 15.67 

Laborers and freight, 

stock, and material 

movers, hand 

62,650 3.9 9.55 73,030 4.9 10.66 

First-line 

supervisors/managers 

of office and 

administrative support 

workers 

46,060 2.9 14.62 36,290 2.4 12.88 

Customer service 

representatives 19,980 1.3 10.66 32,380 2.2 12.21 

Shipping, receiving, 

and traffic clerks 28,250 1.8 10.75 12,990 0.9 14.22 

Pharmacy technicians 16,090 1.0 12.49 19,160 1.3 12.82 

Pharmacists 16,750 1.1 50.75 12,500 0.8 53.37 

Industry total 1,598,880 11.34 1,500,320 11.57 

Note: The occupations listed above are ranked by the highest combined employment across these two 

industries. For example, since retail salespersons have a combined employment of 854,360, this 

occupation is ranked above cashiers, which have a combined employment of 577,870, and so on.
8

Table 2. Largest occupations in electronic shopping and mail-order houses and 

their mean hourly wages, May 2008 

Occupation Employment Percent of industry 

employment Mean hourly wage 

Customer service 

representatives 34,830 13.5 $12.91 

Order clerks 31,010 12.0 11.93 

Shipping, receiving, and traffic 

clerks 14,920 5.8 12.62 

Stock clerks and order fillers 12,580 4.9 11.04 

Retail salespersons 11,590 4.5 13.78 

Telemarketers 9,720 3.8 12.54 

Laborers and freight, stock, and 

material movers, hand 9,690 3.8 11.69 

Packers and packagers, hand 8,760 3.4 10.51 

First-line supervisors/managers 

of office and administrative 

support workers 

6,150 2.4 21.32 

Office clerks, general 5,720 2.2 12.51

Industry total 257,440 18.43 

Table 3. Mean hourly wages for six of the largest occupations shared by the three 

selected retail trade industries, May 2008 

Occupation Department 

stores 

Other general 

merchandise stores 

Electronic shopping 

and mail-order houses 

First-line supervisors/managers of 

office and administrative support 

workers 

$14.62 $12.88 $21.32 

Shipping, receiving, and traffic 

clerks 10.75 14.22 12.62 

Customer service representatives 10.66 12.21 12.91 

Retail salespersons 9.89 9.73 13.78 

Laborers and freight, stock, and 

material movers, hand 9.55 10.66 11.69 

Stock clerks and order fillers 9.71 10.09 11.04 

Industry mean hourly wage 11.34 11.57 18.43 

Note: The six occupations listed above were selected among the largest occupations that were found to be 

the same in tables 1 and 2.