Sales Jobs in Demand; Sales Reps at a Premium

Someone is selling sales jobs—but perhaps not fast enough. The labor market data in Analyst (EMSI’s online labor market data tool) shows that sales & related occupations (SOC 41-000) have added a projected 775,000 new jobs across the U.S. from 2010 to 2014, more than almost any other occupation group since the recession. But, curiously, Manpower Group’s latest Talent Shortage Survey actually ranks sales representatives third on its list of the top 10 most difficult positions for employers to fill in 2014.

Can employers not find talent? Is there a legitimate skill deficit? Whatever the cause, it’s clear—based on wild job growth and the hunger for yet more workers—that sales jobs provide bright opportunities for jobseekers in 2014.

For this analysis, we’ve isolated the occupations that deal with sales directly (leaving out cashiers, for example) and added sales managers (SOC 11-2022) and driver/sales workers (SOC 53-3031). The result is a group of 16 sales occupations fractured between low-skill, low-wage jobs like door-to-door sales workers ($9.44, median hourly wages), and high-skill, high-wage jobs such as sales reps of technical and scientific products ($35.94).

The group has a combined total of 12.2 million jobs nationwide. They’ve added nearly 612,000 jobs since 2010 (5% growth), though four of the jobs are either essentially stagnant or in actual decline. Median hourly wages are $18.85.

Since 2010, all the typical MSAs have added the most sales jobs:

• New York: 37,222 jobs (5%)
• Houston: 26,411 (11%)
• Dallas: 26,090 (9%)
• Miami: 24,499 (10%)
• Atlanta: 16,183 (7%)
• Chicago: 15,859 (4%)

Sales jobs are flourishing percentage-wise in a number of MSAs that haven’t necessarily seen the most jobs added. Thanks at least in part to the booms in oil and retail, four cities in North Dakota are among the top 17 for percent growth since 2010, and three of those are in the top five:

• #1 Williston (1,214 new jobs, 107%)
• #3 Dickinson (530 new jobs, 48%)
• #5 Minot (871 new jobs, 29%)
• #17 Bismarck (1,001 new jobs, 17%)

Sales occupations are ubiquitous, so it’s no surprise that nowhere are they off-the-charts high in concentration. Washington Court House, Ohio, has the greatest concentration with a location quotient of 1.9, which means the MSA has nearly twice as many sales jobs as the national average (1.0). Most of the sales jobs in this small area are in retail, thanks to the presence of an outlet mall. (Location quotient is a way of measuring concentration, telling us how specialized or unique an occupation is for a particular area.)

Wages are highest in Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Connecticut ($30.07, median hourly earnings), San Jose ($28.64), New York ($26.14), and Williston, North Dakota ($25.37).

Overall, the city with the best job growth, percent growth, and concentration is Miami: nearly 25,000 jobs added, 10% increase, 1.34 LQ. At $18 per hour, local wages are just cents below the national median for sales jobs.

So which sales jobs are outperforming the others? Retail salespersons, the largest with 4.4 million jobs in 2014, have added the most new jobs: 202,000, or 5% growth. The wages, however, are less appealing: $10.31 median hourly earnings. Speaking in terms of size, growth, wages, and concentration, the best sales jobs for 2014 are the following six: insurance sales agents, sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products), sales representatives, services (all other), sales representatives (wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products), and sales engineers.

Sales managers have the highest earnings ($51.27, median hourly wage), followed by sales engineers ($46.46). Insurance sales agents takes the prize for best growth with 83,458 new jobs, or 14% growth since 2010.

Data for this post came from Analyst, EMSI’s labor market research tool. For more information or to see similar data for a particular sector or region, contact Rob Sentz. Follow EMSI on Twitter @DesktopEcon.