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With December comes holiday hiring across the Retail Trade industry sector
12/31/2025 10:43:22 AM
Tim O'Neill
With December comes holiday hiring across the Retail Trade industry sector. Let's take a closer look at a major component of this industry in the Metro Area: General Merchandise Retailers.
In the Twin Cities Metro Area, there were 8,160 establishments in Retail Trade /deed/data/current-econ-highlights/qcew-econ-highlights.jspsupplying just over 152,000 covered jobs. As such, Retail Trade is the region's third largest-employing industry sector, accounting for nearly one-in-ten jobs. Broken down by specific sectors, General Merchandise Retailers accounts for nearly one-quarter of the region's total Retail Trade employment, with just over 35,100 jobs. This sector can be further broken down, including the following in-depth sectors:
With the slight shift of employment away from Department Stores and towards Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters, the Metro Area's total employment in General Merchandise Retailers still increased by 0.9% between the second quarters of 2023 and 2025. This was equivalent to approximately 318 net new jobs (Table 1).
| Table 1. Metro Area Retail Trade Industry Statistics, Q2 2025 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | Number of Jobs | Share of Jobs | Number of Firms | Avg. Annual Wage | Q2 2023 – Q2 2025 Job Change | |
| Numeric | Percent | |||||
| Total, All Industries | 1,783,159 | 100.0% | 93,215 | $78,832 | +15,935 | +0.9% |
| Retail Trade | 152,046 | 8.5% | 8,160 | $42,120 | -2,671 | -1.7% |
| General Merchandise Retailers | 35,102 | 23.1% | 532 | $34,684 | +318 | +0.9% |
| Food & Beverage Stores | 28,270 | 18.6% | 1,130 | $34,268 | -1,256 | -4.3% |
| Motor Vehicle & Parts Dealers | 18,202 | 12.0% | 840 | $71,968 | +408 | +2.3% |
| Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, Book, & Miscellaneous Retailers | 16,171 | 10.6% | 1,626 | $34,164 | -67 | -0.4% |
| Building Material & Garden Equipment & Supplies Dealers | 14,057 | 9.2% | 475 | $42,172 | -880 | -5.9% |
| Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoe, & Jewelry Retailers | 12,150 | 8.0% | 1,056 | $28,912 | +24 | +0.2% |
| Health & Personal Care Retailers | 11,312 | 7.4% | 1,008 | $62,348 | +53 | +0.5% |
| Gasoline Stations & Fuel Dealers | 8,826 | 5.8% | 748 | $32,032 | -352 | -3.8% |
| Furniture, Home Furnishings, Electronics, & Appliance Retailers | 7,953 | 5.2% | 745 | $53,404 | -919 | -10.4% |
| Source: DEED Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages | ||||||
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the most concentrated occupations in General Merchandise Retailers include:
According to data from DEED's /deed/data/data-tools/job-vacancy/index.jspJob Vacancy Survey, Retail Salespersons and Cashiers had the most job vacancies in the Metro Area, with both occupations having about 1,800 job vacancies in 2024. This was followed by over 800 job vacancies for both First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers and Stockers & Order Fillers. Customer Service Representative rounded out the top five occupations in the Metro Area with the most job vacancies in General Merchandise Retailers, with over 500 in 2024. /deed/data/data-tools/oes/index.jspMedian hourly wages for these occupations ranged from $16.69 for Cashiers to $23.98 for Pharmacy Technicians (Figure 1).
People interested in pursuing a job at General Merchandise Retailers, or other jobs in the Retail Trade industry, can check out career-seeking resources /deed/job-seekers/index.jspthrough DEED's main website or through CareerForce.
To discover more about the Twin Cities Metro Area, contact Tim O'Neill, Labor Market Analyst, at Timothy.ONeill@state.mn.us.
