StateStats: Where the Jobs Will Be
Print-Friendly Version February 2008
You don’t often hear, “When I grow up, I want to be a retail salesperson.” Yet the U.S. Department of Labor projects that between 2004 and 2014, there will be 736,000 openings for retail sales people, the most of any occupation in the country.
The average hourly earnings in June 2007 for a retail sales position were $14.42, according to the National Compensation Survey released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This survey also reports that earnings for U.S. civilian workers averaged $19.29 per hour in June 2006.
Of the more than 8.8 million jobs represented by the top 30 growth positions, 68 percent pay less than the $19.29 average wage. Many pay significantly less.
You don’t need a college degree to be a retail salesperson and most individuals performing this work acquire the necessary skills through short-term on-the-job training. Many of the jobs being generated are for unskilled positions such as retail salespeople, waiters, cashiers, and food preparation and service workers, including fast food.
Of the top 10 occupations with the most openings between 2004 and 2014, only two require a degree: registered nurses and postsecondary teachers. The most common educational program for registered nurses is an associate’s degree. Professors usually have a doctorate.
In the past, earnings have tended to track closely to a worker’s educational attainment. It may be significant that many of the jobs the U.S. economy is projected to generate in the decade from 2004 to 2014 require only short-term, on-the-job training.