Employment attributed to electronic shopping firms has doubled in the last five years, outpacing other types of retail.
Even with the fast growth, the number of online shopping jobs is small compared with department stores, warehouse clubs and grocery stores.
… partly because e-commerce is less labor intensive.
Online retailers can sell more products with fewer workers than traditional stores. Nearly three-quarters of e-commerce firms have four or fewer employees. Even though online companies pay higher average wages to their workers, they have a bigger impact on retail sales than on retail employment.
The jobs are going to large metro areas.
Small metro areas and rural counties account for about 23 percent of overall retail employment but just 13 percent of jobs attributed to electronic shopping firms.
