Sales

Of the approximately 1.7 million sales workers employed by wholesalers and manufacturers, about 307,000 sell manufacturing, technical, and scientific products. These wholesaler businesses arrange for the sale of goods owned by others. They do not take title to the goods but generally receive a fee or commission for their service of bringing sellers and buyers together. This industry is dominated by small business operations. The largest employment sectors in this branch of sales are wholesale electronic markets and agents and brokers and professional and commercial equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers. More than 50 percent of wholesale and manufacturing sales representatives work for wholesalers of durable and nondurable goods. The other sector, business to business electronic markets, uses the Internet or other electronic means to connect sellers and buyers. Although the electronic B2B sector has only a tiny share of the industry's establishments and employees, the sector's efficient use of high technology generates more dollar sales per worker than the sector not using electronic markets. Of course, a high-tech workplace also requires a more-skilled workforce; this sector has higher per-worker payroll costs than the low-tech sector.