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From 2001 to 2017, the number of business establishments in the electronic shopping and mail order houses industry tripled and employment increased by 68 percent. Over that period, the number of establishments decreased in most other retail trade industries.
Industry | Percent change in establishments(p) | Percent change in employment(p) | Employment in 2017(p) |
---|---|---|---|
Electronic shopping and mail-order houses |
199.0% | 67.8% | 402,791 |
Health and personal care stores |
43.4 | 13.7 | 1,066,464 |
Beer, wine, and liquor stores |
21.9 | 11.7 | 157,327 |
Clothing stores |
12.1 | 7.9 | 1,037,101 |
Other miscellaneous store retailers |
9.9 | 10.4 | 335,369 |
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores |
7.1 | 12.3 | 553,348 |
Direct selling establishments |
6.5 | -21.8 | 132,608 |
Grocery stores |
5.2 | 6.7 | 2,700,833 |
Used merchandise stores |
4.6 | 64.7 | 174,387 |
Sporting goods and musical instrument stores |
-2.3 | 16.9 | 516,696 |
Gasoline stations |
-2.3 | 1.3 | 931,908 |
Other motor vehicle dealers |
-7.9 | 13.3 | 154,067 |
Automobile dealers |
-7.9 | 5.2 | 1,290,996 |
Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores |
-9.9 | -0.7 | 154,638 |
Specialty foods stores |
-12.1 | -14.0 | 228,601 |
Building material and garden supply stores |
-12.6 | 14.7 | 1,129,136 |
Electronics and appliance stores |
-19.1 | -9.6 | 503,317 |
Shoe stores |
-19.2 | 10.9 | 209,434 |
Furniture stores |
-19.3 | -20.9 | 223,031 |
Home furnishing stores |
-20.5 | -1.6 | 251,932 |
Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores |
-25.5 | -23.2 | 134,008 |
Vending machine operators |
-41.4 | -41.1 | 38,668 |
Office supplies, stationery, and gift stores |
-42.1 | -43.1 | 259,573 |
Florists |
-45.6 | -51.6 | 60,277 |
Book stores and news dealers |
-65.3 | -66.3 | 80,905 |
Footnotes: (p) = preliminary. |
From 2001 to 2017, other industries that experienced an increase in employment and establishments included health and personal care stores; beer, wine, and liquor stores; clothing stores; and auto parts, accessories and tire stores.
The number of establishments in book stores and news dealers decreased 65 percent from 2001 to 2017, while employment in that industry decreased 66 percent. Over that period, employment in florists decreased by 52 percent to 60,277 in 2017. The number of florist shops decreased by 46 percent. Employment in office supplies, stationery, and gift shops decreased to 259,573 in 2017, a 43-percent decrease from 2001. Establishments in this industry decreased 42 percent over the same period.
Among retail industries with an increase in employment from 2001 to 2017, several experienced a decrease in their number of establishments. These industries included shoe stores and building material and garden supply stores, which experienced a decrease of over 10 percent.
These data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. For more data on establishments and employment, see the QCEW data retrieval tool.
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Business establishments in electronic shopping triple from 2001 to 2017 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2018/business-establishments-in-electronic-shopping-triple-from-2001-to-2017.htm (visited February 09, 2025).