Many retail employees work on a part-time basis, which usually means lower hourly wages and reduced access to employee benefits. Despite this, the number of part-time employees in this sector is expected to rise. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 4.3 million people worked as retail employees in 2010, and the number of positions is expected to rise by 17 percent by 2020.
Average Wages in Retail
BLS considers an employee working 1 to 34 hours per week to be part time, while 35 or more hours per week is considered full time. In the retail sector, this extra hour of work per week usually means a multi-dollar per hour difference in median compensation. According to Demos, an organization focused on public policy, the lowest earning part-time retail employees receive a median wage of $8.25. When all part-time retail workers are included, the median wage rises to $9.61. By comparison, their full-time counterparts receive median wages of $9.61 to $14.42.
Discrepancy in Wages
In 2007 the Institute for Research on Labor and Employment at UCLA reported that part-time employees in retail make 33 percent less in hourly wages than full-time workers with the same position. However, the actual difference in wages expands and contracts across the various retail sectors. For example, part-time retail workers in electronics earn 55 percent less than full-timers, but this percentage narrows to 34 percent for grocery workers.
Total Compensation Gaps
The actual gap in total compensation earned by part-time retail workers compared to full-time workers is often wider than the difference in hourly wages. Many full-time employees enjoy access to additional benefits, such as paid time off and sick days, which part-time employees are rarely offered. Part-time employees also receive less employment protection under many government programs. For example, workers applying for unemployment insurance benefits must meet a minimum earnings amount to qualify, while eligibility under the Family and Medical Leave Act is based on a minimum number of hours worked per year.
Minimum Wage and Incentives
Part-time workers earn minimum wage more often than full-time employees, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis. As of 2013, the federal minimum wage equaled $7.25 per hour. Some states have their own minimum wage, and employers must pay whichever minimum wage is higher – federal or state. For example, a new retail employee at a chain in Arkansas, which has a minimum wage of $6.25 per hour, earns the federal rate of $7.25 while a worker in the same position in Washington state earns $9.19 per hour. Some employers may also offer incentives, such as a commission plan, to motivate both full- and part-time workers and provide greater compensation based on higher sales instead of hours worked.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Retail Salespersons
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Retail Sales Workers
- NBC News: Hiring Revs Up, But It's Mostly Part Time and Low Pay
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Labor Force Characteristics
- Demos: Retail's Hidden Potential
- Institute for Research on Labor and Employment: Competitive Strategies and Worker Outcomes in the US Retail Industry
- U.S. Department of Labor: Fact Sheet #28: The Family and Medical Leave Act
- National Center for Policy Analysis: Minimum Wage Myths
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage Laws in the States
- Forbes: Does Part-Time Work Have to Be Low Paying?
- Polka Dot Images/Polka Dot/Getty Images