Study Estimates More Than 100,000 Positions Available in U.S. Auto Dealerships
Industry and Government Websites Promote High Growth Jobs
MCLEAN, Va., Feb. 7 -- At a time when the auto industry is undergoing significant change, a new study shows there are more than 100,000 career jobs currently available at auto dealerships across the country. The study was released today by Automotive Retailing Today (ART), a coalition of major automobile manufacturers and dealer organizations. The report also found that auto dealers hired more than 15,000 military veterans since January 2004.
The study, conducted by Harris Interactive(R), January 5 - 14, 2006, surveyed 657 franchised new car dealers in the U.S. about the estimated number of vacant positions in their dealerships.(1) It found there are an estimated 104,803 vacant positions available at new car dealerships in the U.S. ranging from administrative and management to service and sales. The approximate vacancies by job function include:
* Sales: 42,198 * Service: 37,329 * Administrative/Clerical: 7,120 * Management: 6,903 * Other: 11,253
"America's franchised auto dealers are hanging out the help wanted sign all across the country," said Alan Starling, chairman of Auto Retailing Today. "The careers available in the auto retailing industry are intellectually challenging with opportunity for advancement. Pay and demand for these positions are high and these are jobs that cannot be outsourced to other countries."
Regions of the U.S. with the greatest number of vacancies, as reported in the survey, include the South Atlantic, the Midwest and the Pacific states. Specific regional opportunities include:
South Atlantic (Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia): 24,647 Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin): 15,582 Pacific (Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington): 15,472 West South Central (Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas): 14,582 Mid-Atlantic (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania): 9,695 North Central (Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota): 7,142 Mountain (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico Utah, Wyoming): 6,752 New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire Rhode Island, Vermont): 5,452 East South Central (Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee): 5,064
"The shortage of employees is due to sales growth and retiree replacement. There also have been misperceptions about the dealership work environment," said Starling. "Dealerships have become high-tech facilities requiring highly skilled staff and needing top-notch employees with computer and technical skills. Today's new vehicles are very sophisticated and so are our customers. Internet savvy consumers do research before visiting the dealership and demand first-class service and attention."
ART began its research about misperceptions in auto retailing careers in 2001 when it engaged Wirthlin Worldwide to survey parents, teens and educators on their opinion of auto industry careers. The results showed that awareness of these jobs and related job benefits was low. However, disinterest appeared to be the result of a lack of information and indifference quickly reversed when parents, teens and educators learned more about dealership job shortages and the wages and benefits associated with these careers.
Launch of Auto Career Websites
In an effort to promote these high-paying automotive-related jobs, ART announced its new website offering comprehensive information about the career opportunities offered by franchise dealerships. The website http://www.autocareerstoday.org/ serves as the online clearinghouse for the auto industry's career information program, including salaries and available training.
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) identified auto retailing as an industry experiencing significant growth in career opportunities. In conjunction with the Administration's High Growth Job Training Initiative, ART consolidated auto retailing career information, including career paths, necessary skills, job descriptions, average wages, requisite training and education and links to resources.
The information is posted at http://www.autocareerstoday.org/, in both English and Spanish, and similar information will also be posted on http://www.careervoyages.gov/, a Department of Labor website. People changing careers, military veterans, parents, educators and students can enter the site through customized portal pages that feature shortcuts to information tailored to their backgrounds and interests.
In 2004, auto dealerships represented almost 13 percent of the nation's total retail trade payroll at a total of $50.5 billion. (NADA Data, 2005) Over the next ten years, there will be an estimated 31,900 new jobs available annually in the service technician sector of the automotive industry alone. Other automobile retailing jobs, not including service, are projected to increase 13 percent by 2012. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Auto retailers are highly competitive and customer driven and the changes dealers are making to meet customer demand are proving successful. A 2004 survey by Harris Interactive for ART reports that 91 percent of new car buyers are satisfied with the dealership where they most recently purchased/leased a new vehicle.
Veteran Employment
ART's study also shows that the nation's auto dealers reported hiring an estimated total of 15,647 military veterans in the past 24 months. In January 2004, ART joined forces with the U.S. military to promote dealership hiring of recent military veterans. The initiative, known as Hire the Heroes, provided links between thousands of auto dealers and military outplacement agencies to post job vacancies and attract transitioning veterans to available jobs. The pool of recent military veterans includes technologically savvy, motivated workers whose skills and military training may be easily adaptable to a variety of dealership positions.
Details of the study are available at: http://www.autoretailing.org/ About ART
ART, a coalition of all major automobile manufacturers and dealer organizations, works to promote a better understanding of the retail side of the automotive industry and to build stronger customer relationships through shared research and development programs. ART attempts to dispel outdated perceptions of franchise auto dealerships and automotive careers. For more information, visit http://www.autoretailing.org/ or http://www.autocareerstoday.org/
About Harris Interactive(R)
Harris Interactive Inc. (http://www.harrisinteractive.com/), based in Rochester, New York, is the 13th largest and the fastest-growing market research firm in the world, most widely known for The Harris Poll(R) and for its pioneering leadership in the online market research industry. Long recognized by its clients for delivering insights that enable confident business decisions, the Company blends the science of innovative research with the art of strategic consulting to deliver knowledge that leads to measurable and enduring value. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its wholly-owned subsidiary Novatris in Paris, France, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies.
(1) Harris Interactive conducted an online survey from January 5-13, 2006
among 657 authorized representatives of new car dealerships in the
U.S. The National Automobile Dealers Association, which represents the
approximately 20,000 car and truck dealerships, provided the sample.
Data were weighted based on the number of new units sold and for
region, according to NADA targets for those. In theory, with
probability samples of this size, one could say with 95% certainty
that the sampling error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points.
