Job prospects Retail Sales Associate in Alberta

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "retail sales associate" in Alberta or across Canada.

Job opportunities in Alberta

These outlooks were updated on December 11, 2024.

Prospects over the next 3 years

The employment outlook will be moderate for Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers (NOC 64100) in Alberta for the 2024-2026 period.

The following factors contributed to this outlook:

• Employment growth will lead to a moderate number of new positions.
• Not many positions will become available due to retirements.
• There are a moderate number of unemployed workers with recent experience in this occupation.

• The impacts of inflation being higher for longer than expected have affected decision making of some consumers.
• Overall employment will be tied to consumer spending levels and the general health of the economy. Decreased consumer spending will be reflected in a lower demand for these occupations.
• Population growth should help keep consumer spending from declining.

Here are some key facts about Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers in Alberta:

• Approximately 67,600 people work in this occupation.
• Retail salespersons and visual merchandisers mainly work in the following sectors:
  • Other retail stores (NAICS 44-45, except 445): 70%
  • Food and beverage stores (NAICS 445): 11%
• The distribution of full-time and part-time workers in this occupation is:
  • Full-time workers: 54% compared to 80% for all occupations
  • Part-time workers: 46% compared to 20% for all occupations
• 46% of retail salespersons and visual merchandisers work all year, while 54% work only part of the year, compared to 61% and 39% respectively among all occupations. Those who worked only part of the year did so for an average of 38 weeks compared to 42 weeks for all occupations.
• 6% of retail salespersons and visual merchandisers are self-employed compared to an average of 15% for all occupations.
• The gender distribution of people in this occupation is:
  • Men: 43% compared to 53% for all occupations
  • Women: 56% compared to 47% for all occupations
• The educational attainment of workers in this occupation is:
  • no high school diploma: 12% compared to 10% for all occupations
  • high school diploma or equivalent: 48% compared to 28% for all occupations
  • apprenticeship or trades certificate or diploma: 8% compared to 13% for all occupations
  • college certificate or diploma or university certificate below bachelor's: 15% compared to 19% for all occupations
  • bachelor's degree: 14% compared to 21% for all occupations
  • university certificate, degree or diploma above bachelor level: less than 5% compared to 9% for all occupations

Breakdown by region

Explore job prospects in Alberta by economic region.

Source Labour Market Information | Prospects Methodology

Job prospects elsewhere in Canada

Explore current and future job prospects for people working as a "retail sales associate" Retail salespersons (NOC 64100) or across Canada.

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