About the Wholesale Trade sector The wholesale trade sector is part of the trade, transportation, an...

1. Industries at a Glance: Wholesale Trade: NAICS 42
About the Wholesale Trade sector
The wholesale trade sector is part of the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector.
The Wholesale Trade sector comprises establishments engaged in wholesaling merchandise,
generally without transformation, and rendering services incidental to the sale of merchandise. The
merchandise described in this sector includes the outputs of agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and
certain information industries, such as publishing.
The wholesaling process is an intermediate step in the distribution of merchandise. Wholesalers are
organized to sell or arrange the purchase or sale of (a) goods for resale (i.e., goods sold to other
wholesalers or retailers), (b) capital or durable nonconsumer goods, and (c) raw and intermediate
materials and supplies used in production.
Wholesalers sell merchandise to other businesses and normally operate from a warehouse or office.
These warehouses and offices are characterized by having little or no display of merchandise. In
addition, neither the design nor the location of the premises is intended to solicit walk-in traffic.
Wholesalers do not normally use advertising directed to the general public. Customers are generally
reached initially via telephone, in-person marketing, or by specialized advertising that may include
Internet and other electronic means. Follow-up orders are either vendor-initiated or client-initiated,
generally based on previous sales, and typically exhibit strong ties between sellers and buyers. In
fact, transactions are often conducted between wholesalers and clients that have long-standing
business relationships.
North American Industry Classification System
The wholesale trade sector consists of these subsectors:
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in wholesale trade.
While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry
unemployment comes from a national survey of households.
The following tables present an overview of the industry including
the number of jobs,
the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry,
job openings and labor turnover,

2. union membership and representation,
gross job gains and losses,
data for occupations common to the industry,
and projections of occupational employment change.
Employment, Unemployment, and Openings, Hires, and Separations
Data series
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data
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)
5,887.8

3. 5,898.2
5,908.1
5,903.6
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)
4,745.0
4,756.4
4,753.7
4,748.7
Unemployment
Unemployment rate
4.0%
4.0%
4.2%
3.6%
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

4. Job openings
175
163
147
Hires
146
134
163
Separations
149
118
145
(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor

5. Turnover Survey)
Union Membership and Representation
Data series
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data
2011
2012
2013
2014
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)
4.4%
5.1%
5.0%
3.3%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

6. 4.8%
5.6%
5.7%
4.0%
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Dynamic Changes in Employment
Data series
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data
4th quarter
2013
1st quarter
2014
2nd quarter
2014
3rd quarter
2014
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains

7. 286
272
284
277
Gross job losses
251
251
248
251
(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)
Employment by Occupation
Data series
Employment,
2014
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
389,150
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
961,470

8. Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
196,120
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer
203,860
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products
41,610
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
Projections
For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes
employment estimates by industry and occupation for wholesale trade.
(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)
Earnings and Hours
This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours.
The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by
union membership status, are shown.
In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in
wholesale trade.
This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as
recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.
Earnings and Hours of All Employees
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

9. (Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Union Membership and Representation
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Earnings by Occupation
Data series
Wages, 2014
Hourly
Annual
Median
Mean
Median
Mean
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand
$12.73
$13.55
$26,470
$28,190
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products
$26.12
$31.66
$54,330

10. $65,850
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products
$35.28
$41.81
$73,380
$86,970
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer
$18.73
$20.11
$38,950
$41,820
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products
$25.33
$28.05
$52,700
$58,340
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
Employer Compensation Costs
Data series

11. Back
data
2nd quarter
2014
3rd quarter
2014
4th quarter
2014
1st quarter
2015
12-month percent change
Total compensation
3.7%
4.6%
3.4%
3.3%
Wages and salaries

12. 3.9%
5.3%
3.8%
3.8%
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses
This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of
workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in wholesale trade. An injury or illness is
considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or
contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.
(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
Prices
This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the
percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices
included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.
Data series
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data
Jan.
2015
Feb.
2015
Mar.
2015
Apr.
2015

13. Producer price index
131.0
130.3
131.5
130.7
Percent change from previous month
0.8%
-0.5%
0.9%
-0.6%
(Source: Producer Price Indexes)
Workplace Trends
This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments
experiencing job gains or job losses in wholesale trade. Also included in this section is information
on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.
Establishments
(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Productivity
(Source: Productivity and Costs)
Data extracted on:

14. May 14, 2015
http://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag42.htm