U.S. Retail Clothing Stores Lost 300,000 Jobs In Five Years Since The Pandemic

The U.S. retail clothing industry has shed hundreds of thousands of jobs in recent years. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Economic Census, employment in Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores fell from 1.8 million workers in 2017 to 1.5 million in 2022.

Most of the decline came from small firms with one to 19 employees. Yet, during the same period, annual payroll still grew from $32.1 billion to $35.0 billion.

The Census Bureau reports that the number of Clothing and Clothing Accessories retail firms dropped from 56,731 in 2017 to 52,909 in 2022, and the number of establishments fell from 143,534 to 121,610. An establishment refers to a single physical location, while a firm may operate multiple establishments.

Retail overall remains a massive employer—supporting more than a quarter of all U.S. jobs. The Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that in 2023, “18% of retail salespeople…were employed by firms that sold clothing, accessories, shoes and jewelry.”

While brick-and-mortar apparel stores have contracted, the U.S. Census Bureau’s Business Dynamic Statistics show rapid growth in nonstore retail. Electronic shopping and mail-order firms increased 33% from 33,241 in 2017 to 44,322 in 2022. Establishments in this sector rose from 72,316 in 2021 to 77,128 in 2022, with new businesses fueling job growth. In 2020 alone, nonstore retailers added 117,379 jobs.

The Census Bureau’s BDS Explorer shows that “among electronic shopping and mail-order firms, those less than a year old were the largest net job creators in 2022,” reversing the pre-2020 trend when firms at least 11 years old led job gains.

Retail also experiences significant worker turnover between industries. The Census Bureau’s Job-to-Job Explorer, using Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics data, reports that in the second quarter of 2023, about 13.7 million people worked in retail. Roughly 306,000 switched to other retail jobs, while thousands moved to different sectors—140,000 to accommodation and food services, 86,000 to health care and social assistance, 83,000 to administrative services, and 18,000 to educational services.