How Many Jobs Are Available in Consumer Non-Durables?

Non-durable consumer goods are goods used or consumed in less than one year but can include anything from clothes to cars that have a projected lifespan of one year or less. Consumer non-durables are an extremely important part of the U.S. economy, making up around 20% of all goods and services purchased in the United States, or around $2 trillion annually as of 2016.

One of the most significant sectors in consumer non-durables is food and groceries, which made up almost $1 trillion in sales in 2016 alone. How many jobs are available in consumer non-durables?

What is the consumer non-durables industry?

How Many Jobs Are Available in Consumer Non-Durables? The consumer non-durables industry primarily deals with retail goods. There are over 20,000 companies employing more than one million people that are part of this category. These organizations provide consumers with household items such as paper products, textiles, and cleaning supplies. You can often find them at your local supermarket or department store. Consumer non-durable companies are also major providers of clothing, electronic equipment, and furniture to households.

Job opportunities include both white collars jobs like marketing managers and engineers to blue-collar jobs like cashiers, warehouse workers, drivers, and forklift operators. Employers in this field will be looking for sales representatives, graphic designers, and even accountants. If you have experience working in the fields of accounting or logistics management then there is an excellent chance you will find an exciting opportunity among the many jobs available within the consumer non-durables industry.

Top Job Categories

There are three job categories available to those interested in this sector: production and operations managers, sales managers, and marketing managers. Production and operations managers make up the majority of jobs available, with over forty thousand jobs currently open.

Altogether there are more than fifty thousand jobs available for people looking to start a career in non-durable goods manufacturing. The median salary is approximately $67,000 annually. The top four industries that offer the most opportunities include food products (12%), retail trade (10%), motor vehicle manufacturing (9%), and pharmaceuticals (8%).

Industry Trends

In the retail trade industry, there are over 18 million jobs, with a few subsectors seeing projected growth. The biggest sector is clothing and accessories, with more than 2.7 million jobs projected by 2022. Sales jobs (1.5 million) and cashiers (2 million) are also common in this field; however, many of these positions require only a high school degree or less for entry-level roles.

There are close to five times as many jobs available in wholesale trade, accounting for 2.6% of total employment opportunities nationwide. Some specific areas that offer higher job growth include meat packers (33%), steel workers (15%), and welders (17%).

What companies are in the consumer non-durables field

● Clorox Company, Inc.
● Nestle S.A.
● Kimberly Clark Corporation
● Unilever PLC ● Procter & Gamble Co.
● Colgate-Palmolive Co.
● Coty Inc. (3) ● L’Oréal Group (2)
● Church & Dwight Co., Inc. (1) ● Energizer Holdings Inc.
● Reckitt Benckiser Group plc

What are non-durables in economics?

Non-durables are products, such as groceries and gasoline, that will not last for a long period of time. In economics, non-durables are also referred to as consumer goods. Consumers buy these items with the intent of using them for a relatively short duration of time before they need to be replaced.

For example, when you purchase cereal or a television set at the grocery store, it is considered a non-durable good. At the gas station, when you buy gas or cigarettes, those are also considered non-durables. However, if you were to purchase carpeting from Home Depot to install in your home, that would be considered a durable good because it will last longer than a few days.

Entry Level Opportunities

While many consumer non-durable jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, there are some entry-level positions available as well. For example, according to the BLS, an electrician helper apprentice will be responsible for tasks such as running wiring in new homes and other locations. Aspiring helpers will usually need no more than a high school diploma and the proper certification to enter this occupation.

The starting salary is around $18,000 per year with prospects of earning up to $23,000 annually with experience. According to the BLS, the median annual salary in this profession is around $29,000 per year. A cashier, on the other hand, requires just a high school diploma and can earn upwards of $27,000 per year without any formal training or education. Entry-level employment opportunities are also available in areas like food service, retail sales, clerical work, and office administration.

What are 5 non-durable goods?

There are five different types of consumer goods: Durables, Semi-durables, Nondurables, Imports, and Exports. Durable goods are products that last for more than three years. These are things like cars or appliances. Semi-durable goods last for between three months and three years. Items such as clothing or furniture fall into this category. Nondurable goods only last for a few hours to less than a month before they wear out or expire.

Examples include food, beauty supplies, cleaning supplies, and anything else you can think of. Import is the flow of goods from other countries into the United States. Exports are the flow of American-made goods to other countries abroad.

What is the difference between durable and perishable goods?

Durable goods typically have a longer useful life, meaning you will be using the product for a longer period of time. There are some exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, durable goods are not going to spoil like perishable items will. For example, let’s say you buy new furniture and your dog throws up on it, durable goods would still be usable while something like an apple is not if it gets moldy.

Is consumer non-durables a good career path?

Consumers will always need to buy food, drinks, clothing, and toiletries. That means that there are thousands of potential jobs for people who can produce or transport these products all over the world. If you have the skillset for any job in the supply chain of a product, then it is likely that you will find work! However, if your skillset does not fit in with one of those specific fields, then it might be more difficult.

You might want to consider making yourself more valuable by gaining more qualifications (e.g. degree) or experience (e.g. apprenticeship).
If you are worried about finding employment in this industry as a whole, then it might be worth considering becoming an entrepreneur and starting your own business!