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Directions Newsletter

By the Numbers: Retail jobs and the Canadian economy

ufcw canada by the numbersToronto – June 23, 2013

  • Retail salesperson/clerk is the most common occupation in Canada.
  • In 2010, the Canadian retail industry represented total consumer sales of $443.2 billion.
  • Cashier is the second most common occupation for Canadian women.
  • The Canadian service sector employs 75 percent of all Canadians, and accounts for 78 percent of Canada’s total GDP.
  • 1 in 8 Canadian workers is employed in retail/wholesale – about 2.7 million people.
  • Across industrialized countries, retail workers constitute about 10% of the labour force.
  • Wage earners of all ages work in retail. There is a relatively high proportion of young workers, yet 4 in 10 retail workers in Canada is over the age of 45.
  • 2/3 of all workers in retail are women.
  • Currently about 13% of retail workers in Canada and about 5% in the United States are unionized.

Research complements of www.revolutionizingretail.org

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United Food and Commercial Workers Union
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