Grocery stores ranked among the largest industries in 2002, providing 2.5 million wage and salary jobs. About 30 percent of all grocery store employees worked part time, and the average workweek of nonsupervisory workers was 30 hours. Some self-employed workers also worked in grocery stores, mostly in smaller establishments.

In 2002, there were about 86,000 grocery stores throughout the Nation. Most grocery stores are small; about two-thirds employ fewer than 20 workers. Most jobs, however, are found in the largest stores. About three-quarters of workers were employed in grocery stores with more than 50 workers.

Many grocery store workers are young, with persons 16 to 24 years old holding 30 percent of the jobs. This reflects the large number of jobs in this industry open to young workers who have little or no work experience.