Garden-variety job growth
Spring is the season when the outdoor world comes alive.
And as plants begin to grow, so does the workforce in
many planting-related industries. In fact, employment
in one such industry—nursery, garden, and farm supply
stores—usually begins to bloom well before the first
daffodil.
As the chart shows, the first sprouts of job growth
appear in February and increase over the next 3 months.
Nursery, garden, and farm supply stores sell trees, plants,
seeds, and other horticultural supplies, and seasonal job
gains coincide with the planting season in much of the
Nation. Over the past 4 years, these stores have added
an average of about 41,000 workers to their payrolls
from February to June. This gain has been offset by an
Nursery, garden, and farm supply stores, over-the-month employment changes,
2006–10, not seasonally adjusted, in thousands
APR
MAR
MAY
MAR
MAR
MAY
APR
MAY
MAR
FEB
FEB
FEB
FEB
FEB
10
MAY
MAR
15
MAY
APR
20
APR
APR
25
5
equivalent job loss occurring over the remainder of the
year.
Other industries that cater to the public’s fondness
for plants and planting, such as landscaping services and
retail home centers, have similar seasonal employment
patterns. Warm-weather businesses that add workers in
the summer and trim payrolls in the fall include amusement parks, construction companies, and hotels and
other traveler accommodations. And industries such as
ski resorts experience seasonal employment buildups in
the fall and winter.
For more information about employment in these and
other industries, visit the Current Employment Statistics
survey Web site at www.bls.gov/ces.
Occupational Outlook Quarterly • Spring 2011
2009
JAN
2008
JAN
2007
JAN
JAN
36
2006
JAN
JAN
-20
2010
SEP
NOV
DEC
OCT
JAN
JUL
AUG
JUN
DEC
NOV
SEP
JAN
JAN
-15
AUG
JUL
NOV
DEC
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
JUN
OCT
JUN
OCT
NOV
DEC
JUN
JAN
-10
SEP
-5
JUL
AUG
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
0