Consumer services encompass roles focused on providing services to individual consumers and families, rather than businesses. This broad sector includes core fields like retail, hospitality, leisure, education, healthcare, and social services, alongside numerous specialized subcategories.
In the United States alone, over 130 million individuals are employed in consumer service jobs. Recent estimates indicate a substantial 9.1 million job openings currently available within the US service sector.
Globally, the countries with the highest number of consumer services job opportunities are:
- USA
- China
- Japan
- Germany
- UK
Notably, the United States surpasses the combined job availability of the next four countries on this list. For businesses seeking international expansion and talent acquisition, Employer of Record (EOR) companies can be invaluable in navigating global hiring complexities.
This article delves into crucial consumer services job statistics, provides a detailed exploration of various consumer service types, profiles major companies in this sector, and addresses the question of compensation levels in consumer services careers.
Key Consumer Job Statistics
- The US consumer services sector accounts for over 140 million jobs, with approximately 9 million positions currently unfilled.
- A significant 79% of the US workforce is employed within the service sector.
- The healthcare and social assistance sector is projected to generate 2.1 million new jobs in the US over the next decade, representing roughly 45% of all new job creation. Notably, four of the ten fastest-growing industries are within this sector.
- Retail and wholesale consumer goods businesses report that 70% of their job openings remain unfilled, while the leisure and hospitality sector faces a 45% job vacancy rate in the US.
- Several US states, including Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arkansas, have experienced substantial growth in consumer services job openings, ranging from 70% to 100% between 2020 and 2023.
- On a global scale, clerical and secretarial roles are experiencing the most rapid decline across all job types.
- The financial sector within consumer services offers the highest earning potential, with average annual salaries ranging from $120,000 to $150,000.
- According to the World Economic Forum, the top five industries experiencing churn rates exceeding 25% (encompassing role changes, new role creation, and role elimination) are all service sector industries: Media, entertainment, and sports (32% churn); Government and public sector (29% churn); Information technology and digital communications (29% churn); Real estate (27% churn); Financial services (26% churn).
- Resignation rates in retail, accommodation, and food services are 26% higher than the US national average, indicating significant employee turnover in these areas.
Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Chamber of Commerce, World Economic Forum
Available Consumer Services Jobs by Industry
Chart showing available consumer service jobs by industry in the US, highlighting the Education and Health Services sector with the highest number of openings.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a detailed breakdown of consumer job availability across various industries, revealing specific areas with significant demand.
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
The trade, transportation, and utilities supersector currently lists 1.6 million job openings, encompassing a range of industries:
Wholesale trade has 242,000 open positions. Job types include freight, stock, and material movers responsible for logistics; sales representatives managing business accounts; truck drivers ensuring product delivery; and wholesale and retail buyers sourcing merchandise.
Retail trade demonstrates a substantial 859,000 job openings. Common roles include cashiers handling transactions, customer service representatives addressing customer inquiries, retail sales roles focused on direct sales, retail sales managers overseeing store operations, stock clerks managing inventory, and order fillers preparing online orders.
Transportation and warehousing sectors hire approximately 130,000 positions per quarter. These roles range from highly skilled positions like airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers ensuring air travel safety, to bus drivers providing public transportation, railroad conductors and yardmasters managing train operations, sailors and marine oilers in maritime transport, and truck drivers crucial for goods distribution.
Utilities show a more stable employment pattern with around 6,000 jobs hired per quarter. These technical roles include control and valve installers and repairers maintaining infrastructure, electrical engineers designing power systems, electrical power-line installers and repairers ensuring electricity distribution, managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers overseeing maintenance teams, and meter readers monitoring utility usage.
Education and Health Services
The education and health services supersector exhibits a significant 1.9 million job openings. Education, the smaller component, accounts for 229,000 vacancies, including essential roles such as teacher assistants supporting educators, elementary, middle, and high school teachers providing instruction, and education administrators managing school systems. Health services represent a larger demand with 1.7 million open roles, encompassing professions like home health aides providing in-home care, LPNs (licensed practical nurses) and LVNs (licensed vocational nurses) offering patient care, and medical and health services managers overseeing healthcare facilities.
Financial Activities
The financial activities supersector indicates 565,000 job openings, reflecting the sector’s robust employment needs.
Finance and insurance account for 399,000 job openings, spanning roles such as accountants and auditors ensuring financial compliance, insurance sales agents selling insurance products, loan officers processing loan applications, bank tellers handling customer transactions, and sales agents for securities, commodities, and financial services facilitating investments.
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing sectors have 166,000 job openings, including positions like counter and rental clerks assisting customers with rentals, property, real estate, and community association managers overseeing properties, real estate brokers facilitating property transactions, and real estate agents assisting buyers and sellers.
Information
The information services supersector has 265,000 open roles in the US, highlighting opportunities in the evolving digital landscape. The services offered by EOR companies facilitate international hiring, enabling US firms to access global talent for many of these positions. This sector comprises diverse sub-industries:
Publishing industries seek professionals such as editors refining content, advertising sales agents selling ad space, graphic designers creating visual materials, and reporters and correspondents gathering news across newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers, as well as software publishers.
Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries offer roles including actors performing in productions, audio and video equipment technicians managing technical aspects, cashiers handling sales at venues, motion picture projectionists operating film equipment, and producers and directors leading creative projects.
Broadcasting sector jobs include advertising sales agents for media time slots, broadcast technicians maintaining broadcast equipment, producers and directors overseeing program production, radio and television announcers presenting content, and reporters and correspondents delivering news through broadcasts.
Telecommunications companies hire customer service representatives assisting customers, electronics engineers designing communication systems, managers of support workers leading support teams, equipment installers and repairers maintaining telecom infrastructure, line installers and repairers working on physical lines, and telephone operators managing call systems.
Data Processing and Hosting sectors require computer programmers writing code, computer support specialists providing technical assistance, computer systems analysts designing IT systems, and software developers for both applications and systems software creating software solutions.
Leisure and Hospitality
The leisure and hospitality services supersector shows 1.4 million job openings. Given the typically shorter average job tenure in this sector, businesses leveraging ATS software to optimize their hiring processes gain a competitive advantage.
Within the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector, 159,000 job openings are available for roles like actors performing in live entertainment, amusement and recreation attendants managing recreational facilities, fitness trainers and aerobic instructors guiding fitness activities, gaming supervisors overseeing casino operations, and musicians and singers providing entertainment.
The Accommodations and Food Services sector has a substantial 1.1 million job openings, featuring roles in food preparation creating meals, servers taking orders and serving customers, cooks preparing food in kitchens, waiters and waitresses providing table service, and desk clerks at hotels, motels, and resorts managing guest services.
Professional and Business Services
The professional and business services supersector also presents 1.4 million job openings, indicating strong demand in various business support areas.
The Professional, Scientific, and Technical sector needs skilled professionals such as accountants and auditors managing finances, architectural and civil drafters creating technical drawings, lawyers providing legal counsel, and management analysts improving organizational efficiency.
Management of Companies and Enterprises includes roles like accountants and auditors overseeing corporate finances, bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks handling financial records, financial managers directing financial planning, supervisors overseeing teams, general managers leading business units, and operations managers managing daily operations.
The Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services sector seeks janitors and cleaners maintaining cleanliness, laborers and freight, stock, and material movers handling physical tasks, landscapers and groundskeepers maintaining outdoor spaces, office clerks performing administrative tasks, and security guards ensuring safety and security.
Other Services
Categorized broadly as “other services,” there are 328,000 job openings for roles like automotive service technicians and mechanics repairing vehicles, hairdressers, hair stylists, and cosmetologists providing personal care services, laundry and dry clear workers processing laundry, and managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers supervising maintenance teams.
Consumer Services Jobs by Country/Region
Job opening trends in consumer services have varied significantly across US states between 2020 and 2023.
Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates that Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Arkansas experienced substantial increases in job openings, ranging from 70% to 100%. The Midwest, South, and Texas regions saw a growth range of 40% to 69%.
Many of these roles offer remote work options. A US Census Bureau Report, analyzed by SelectSoftware Reviews, identified Colorado as a prominent work-from-home hotspot, with nearly 40% of its workforce operating remotely.
The Northeast, Plains states, and West Coast regions experienced more modest growth in job openings, ranging from 10% to 39%, with Oregon showing the lowest increase at 0% to 9%.
Biggest Consumer Services Companies
The following table lists the largest consumer services companies based on market capitalization in 2024:
| Company | Sector | Market cap. (Billion USD) |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com | Retail | $1,534 |
| Walmart | Retail | $428.872 |
| Home Depot | Retail | $336.986 |
| Costco Wholesale Corp | Retail/wholesale | $287.691 |
| McDonald’s Corp. | Restaurants | $213.534 |
| Comcast Corp. | Communications | $174.326 |
| The Walt Disney Corp. | Media/entertainment | $167.749 |
| Lowe’s Companies | Retail | $122.079 |
| Starbucks Corp. | Restaurants | $106.338 |
| TJX Companies | Retail | $105.740 |
(Source: value.today)
Do Consumer Services Jobs Pay Well?
Compensation in consumer services varies widely. Food service roles can start as low as $20,000 annually, while financial services positions average over $120,000 per year, highlighting a significant pay range within the sector.
What Are the Best-Paid Consumer Service Jobs?
The highest paying jobs within the consumer service industry, offering average annual salaries between $120,000 and $150,000, are predominantly found in the financial sector. These include roles in investment banking, securities intermediation, securities and commodity contracts brokerage, reinsurance, portfolio management, and investment advisory services.
Another set of high-paying service roles, averaging around $130,000 annually, are in electric power generation, natural gas distribution, and fossil fuel energy sectors. Scientific research and development across various fields also offer competitive salaries, averaging approximately $123,000 per year.
Programming roles, such as computer programming services, computer systems design, and software publishing, also rank towards the higher end of the pay scale, with average salaries ranging from $100,000 to $123,000.
For context, HR salaries can reach over $200,000 for senior positions, while entry-level coordinators can expect to earn around $50,000.
What Are the Worst Paid Consumer Service Jobs?
The lowest paid service sector roles typically offer annual salaries between $20,000 and $30,000 and are primarily concentrated in food services.
These lower-paying roles include positions at sports centers and gyms, tending snack and non-alcoholic bars, working at bowling centers, hobby and toy stores, amusement parks, arcades, and laundries.
Overall, the leisure and hospitality industries average an annual wage just under $28,000, reflecting the lower end of the compensation spectrum within consumer services.
