WHOLESALE

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(50-51)

Employment change from last quarter	+ 1.9
Employment change from year ago	+ 2.7
Wage change from year ago	+ 9.5

QUARTERLY

Employment in Wholesale Trade rose 1.8% adding 1909 to the industry ranks over the quarter. Durable Goods (50) employment gained 1158 and Nondurable Goods (51) gained 751. Within Durable Goods, Machinery, Equipment & Supplies showed the largest gain up 212. About half of this came from seasonal hiring for the distribution of agricultural machinery and equipment. The distribution of computers, computer peripheral equipment and computer software accounted for most of the gain in Professional & Commercial Equipment & Supplies, which gained 160 over the quarter. Seasonal hiring in Misc Nondurable Goods, up 462 employees drove increases in Nondurable Goods. Misc Nondurable Goods contains agriculture coops along with companies that produce sod for the wholesale industry, and provide fertilizer and seeds to farmers and businesses. Some seasonal gains were also seen in businesses that provide ice. Groceries and Related Products added 173 due to expansions and the opening of one short-lived distributorship in El Paso County.


ANNUAL

Annually, Wholesale Trade gained 2730 employees and rose 2.7%. Growth levels are considerably lower than the 5-4% range experienced in 1997 due to the SIC reclassification of many accounts out of this industry in January of 1998. Most of the change took place in Durable Goods (50) with more than 2600 moving out of the sector and industry. Annual growth for Durable Goods rose to 660 down from the 3000+ during 1997. Quarterly gains in Durable Goods in first quarter and this quarter have helped this sector recover from SIC losses. Machinery, Equipment & Supplies contained the largest subsector employment gain up 560 due to strong gains in Industrial Machinery & Equipment and Farm & Garden Machinery & Equipment. Nondurable Goods (51) reported an annual employment gain of 2070. Groceries & Related Products added 747 with about 380 from January SIC changes. Expansions and some new business accounted for the remainder of the growth. Drug, Drug Proprietaries & Druggists’ Sundries added 547. Increases were due to steady expansions occurring yearlong.

Colorado Employment and Wages (ES202) Second Quarter 1998