Markets To Monitor: Service Industry Growth And Uniform Sales

The modern economy is widely understood as service-based, and it’s not hard to see why. As of 2014, more than 120 million people worked in the service industry, making this field several times larger than all other occupational categories combined. Given how omnipresent they already are, one might expect the number of service jobs to decline, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, service trades will add 9.3 million jobs between 2014 and 2024. Each of these new positions is an opportunity for uniform retailers, who would behoove themselves to take advantage of this growth.

The Role of Uniforms in the Service Industry

Service jobs are as varied as they are numerous, and include positions in healthcare, hospitality, retail, and public service. But as different as these industries are from one another, almost all of them share a need for quality uniforms. Uniforms and gear play a key role in achieving a wide variety of essential outcomes, including:

• Sanitation- Workers in healthcare, food service, and other fields frequently come into contact with germs and toxins, putting both them and their customers at risk. Gear such as scrubs and aprons can minimize exposure to these sources of sickness while also preventing workers from spreading disease to others.
• Identification- In fields like retail and hospitality, customers need to be able to quickly distinguish workers from other people they encounter. Uniforms allow them to do this with ease.
• Professionalism- Service workers have more direct contact with the public than other types of employees. It is thus essential for them to embody the professionalism and commitment to good service of their employers. Uniforms make it easy for them to do this.

In order to take advantage of growth in this field, uniform marketers must stock gear for a wide variety of different service occupations. They must also invest in quality, selling uniforms that resist disease, stains, and damage for the long haul. The better a company can meet these requirements, the more value they will give to service customers, earning them those customers’ loyalty and enduring success.

Sources of Rapid Service Growth

The service industry as a whole is producing new jobs quickly, but certain types of service stand out as particularly productive. These include:

• Healthcare & Social Assistance- Due to the aging of the American population and the increased prevalence of chronic disease, there will be 3,794,800 jobs in this field by 2024.
• Professional & Business Services- By 2024, this field will have 1,889,300 new positions.
• Leisure & Hospitality- These types of businesses are expected to create 941,200 jobs over the next decade.
• Retail- Retailers will add 764,600 positions by 2024.
• Public Service- State and local governments will 756,100 jobs.
• Wholesalers- These businesses will create 325,400 positions.

UniformMarket strives to prepare you for all new trends that affect demand for gear. For more information on these and other growth opportunities, visit our website today.