RETAIL TRADE Workforce Demographics Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation Division of Workforce Development Office of Workforce Information and Performance 1100 N. Eutaw Street, Room 316 Baltimore, MD 21201 April 2005
2 INTRODUCTION This publication examines some of the demographic trends and employment dynamics within the private sector Retail Trade Cluster. The Retail Trade Cluster consists of all of the industry groups that comprise the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) sector of Retail Trade. The labor market is a complex, dynamic system, very active in both good and bad economic times. Firms continually add and eliminate jobs; workers frequently change employers or move in and out of the job market. Workforce experiences can vary greatly between men and women and among workers of different age groups, even under the same economic conditions. Using data from the Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Program, a partnership between the U.S. Census Bureau and participating states, this report provides insight into some of the job market complexities in Maryland s Retail Trade Cluster. For more information on the Local Employment Dynamics Program, go to http://lehd.dsd.census.gov/led. SOURCE OF DATA Local Employment Dynamics Program, U.S. Census Bureau and Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. Data are annual averages for 2003. SCOPE OF COVERAGE Wage and salary employees covered by the Unemployment Insurance Law of Maryland. Because of conceptual and reference period differences, data from the LED program will differ from that reported by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), also known as the ES 202 report. EXPLANATION OF TERMS Average Monthly Earnings, New Hires mean monthly earnings of new workers in their first full quarter of employment with a firm. Employment all workers employed by a firm at the beginning of the quarter. Turnover Rate the percentage of workers moving into and out of employment with a firm during the reference period.
3 Retail Trade Employment Distribution by Age 2003 Annual Averages 55-64 yrs 10.3% 65+ yrs 3.8% 14-18 yrs 7.8% 19-21yrs 10.7% 45-54 yrs 18.2% 22-24 yrs 8.0% 25-34 yrs 19.5% 35-44 yrs 21.7% Younger workers are a major component of the workforce in retail trade. Just over 26% of retail workers were 14-24 years old in 2003, though they made up slightly less than 17% of all private sector employees. The prime working years (25-54) claimed almost 6 out of 10 retail workers, compared with nearly 7 out of 10 among all private industries. Older workers (55 and above) accounted for about 14% of retail employment the same as in the private sector as a whole.
4 Retail Trade Employment by Age & Sex 2003 Annual Averages 70,000 60,000 50,000 Number of Workers 40,000 30,000 20,000 10,000 0 14-18 yrs 19-21yrs 22-24 yrs 25-34 yrs 35-44 yrs 45-54 yrs 55-64 yrs 65+ yrs Female 12,324 16,652 11,726 26,881 30,800 26,971 14,982 5,367 Male 10,871 15,228 12,181 31,292 33,853 27,114 15,560 6,020 In 2003 males comprised just over half of all workers in retail trade, comparable to their share in the private sector overall. By age group, however, gender distribution varied. Of workers 25-34 years old, almost 54% were male. But among the youth age groups (14-18 years and 19-21 years), a majority was female.
5 Average Monthly Earnings New Hires in Retail Trade by Age & Sex 2003 $3,000 $2,500 Male Female 2,764 2,772 2,550 2,211 $2,000 1,895 $1,500 1,511 1,159 1,124 1,143 1,524 1,438 1,464 1,264 1,330 $1,000 874 940 674 577 $500 $0 All Ages 14-18 19-21 22-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ Monthly earnings for newly hired workers in retail trade were lowest for those ages 14-18, rising to a peak among new hires between 35-54 years of age. Lower earnings for the youngest and oldest age groups are in part due to the fact that many new hires in those cohorts are accepting part time positions. Earnings for male new hires outpaced those for female new hires at all age levels. On average, new female employees in 2003 earned slightly more than 60% of what their male counterparts did. The pay disparity was smallest among 14-18 year olds, where females earned almost 86% of male earnings, and greatest among 45-54 year olds, where female new hires made just over 53% of male new hire earnings. The earnings gap reflects pay differences in the occupations for which men and women were hired, and variation in the average number of hours worked, among other reasons.
6 Turnover Rates by Age Retail Trade & All Private Industries 2003 Annual Averages 30% 27.9% 25% 27.5% 23.3% Percent Turnover 20% 15% 10% 22.4% 19.4% 19.1% 14.5% 14.2% 10.9% 10.8% 9.0% 9.4% 8.8% 8.4% 8.6% 10.2% 5% 0% 14-18 yrs 19-21 yrs 22-24 yrs 25-34 yrs 35-44 yrs 45-54 yrs 55-64 yrs 65+ yrs All Industries Retail Trade The mercurial nature of the youth labor force is evident in employee turnover analysis. The youngest workers in retail trade (14-18 years) post turnover rates more than three times those of the older worker cohorts. Turnover declines steadily with age, leveling off among workers 55 and older. Retail trade turnover patterns by age group closely mirror those for the private sector as a whole, though 65+ retail workers exhibit slightly more job stability than do their counterparts in the private sector overall. Turnover for all workers in retail trade (13.6%) is still somewhat higher than for the total private sector (12.7%) because the retail workforce has a much larger proportion of high turnover employees (young workers).