Employment in the E-commerce Industry
The U.S. e-commerce industry has grown fast in size in recent years and so has the number of jobs in it. Hundreds of thousands of workers are fulfilling orders in the e-commerce industry. Online shopping trends and the number of online shoppers has grown, and with it has the number of the E-Commerce workers. Electronic shopping and mail-order houses industry employ the e-commerce workers.
According to the United States Bureau of Labor statistics, the number of such workers has kept growing. An increase of nearly 80 percent in the employment in Electronic shopping and mail-order houses between December 1997 and 2016 has been recorded. According to the BLS projections, employment in electronic shopping and mail-order industry will continue to rise in the future. Total number of jobs in the industry will have reached 450,000 by 2026.
Of all the occupations expected to add more jobs in the e-commerce industry, it is the customer service representatives jobs that will have grown higher than any other job in electronic shopping and mail order houses. Occupations involving tasks like taking and filling orders, packing boxes, and creating websites are projected to see growth in employment level.
As per BLS estimates the number of customer representatives in e-commerce industry was 52,500. Between 2016 and 2026 the number of projected new jobs is 8,300. The median annual wage for customer representatives in 2017 was $30,280. Typically you need a high school diploma or equivalent for entry level jobs as customer representatives.
The number of retail sales person jobs in e-commerce in 2016 was 16,200. 4,600 new retail sales persons jobs are projected to be added between 2016 and 2026. The median wages for retail sales persons was $24,280 in 2017.
Median wages for all the e-commerce workers in the electronics and mail order houses was $37,690. The highest annual median wages were paid to the software and applications developers at $99,260. Retail sales persons were receiving the lowest. General and operations managers were receiving the second highest median wages after the software developers. Media annual wages of the general and operations mangers were $92,800. Web developers received the third highest median annual wages at $ 64,190 followed by the market research analysts and marketing specialists whose median annual wages equalled $57,110.
| Job | Median wage 2017 |
| Customer service representatives | $30,280 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks | $ 28,610 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers | $ 25,880 |
| Retail salespersons | $ 24,280 |
| Packers and packagers, hand | $ 24,440 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $ 30,330 |
| Market research analysts and marketing specialists | $ 57,110 |
| Order clerks | $ 30,140 |
| General and operations managers | $ 92,800 |
| Software developers, applications | $ 99,260 |
| Web developers | $ 64,190 |
| Light truck or delivery services drivers | $ 34,180 |
Sources:
Elka Torpey, “Employment growth and wages in e-commerce,” Career Outlook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, December 2018.
Abhijeet Pratap is a passionate blogger with seven years of experience in the field. Specializing in business management and digital marketing, he has developed a keen understanding of the intricacies of these domains. Through his insightful articles, Abhijeet shares his knowledge, helping readers navigate the complexities of modern business landscapes and digital strategies.