Guess How Many Americans Work In Retail

Guess How Many Americans Work in Retail

November 13, 2008

The extent to which our economy relies on consumer spending has been highlighted with the way stores are suffering and already preparing for a painful holiday season. Retail companies don't just rely on us to make them profitable; many of us also rely on them to print our paychecks. Can you guess how many Americans work in the retail sector?

9 Comments

PiNkY PiNk 4 years 26 weeks

I put 1/50...i thought it would be more realistic. lol I hate retail... hor-ri-ble

socktree 4 years 26 weeks

Retail, especially with the economy as it is, is where most people are biting the bullet. It's kind of like indentured servitude - most people have to do it so they can move on to better things eventually. I worked at Home Depot for a year and in my school's undergrad cafeteria for about 5 months. It makes getting my Master's in about 6 months so much sweeter. tl;dr? Retail sucks.

oliveoyle625 4 years 27 weeks

That's nuts. Even with this economy when people are struggling to survive and barely have enough to eat, let alone shop?

lauraxtc 4 years 27 weeks

Yes!

bsglrok132 4 years 27 weeks

When I put 1 in 10 I was thinking of all the high school/college students who work in retail, plus there are a lot of retired people who get bored and like to work in stores so they can talk to people, and then there are a lot of people who take it as a weekend job to supplement their weekday job.

brandi07 4 years 27 weeks

I had no idea that it was that many, even though I worked in retail during college.

ilanac13 4 years 27 weeks

that was a given to be honest with you. my first job in high school (ok - first regular job) was working retail - so i can believe that the stats are so high