Employment and Productivity Continues Growth Into 2016

LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. - June 24, 2015 - PRLog -- According to the newly released 2015 edition of Workforce Ratios & Forecasts from Schonfeld & Associates, employment in 2016 will grow in most industries with productivity, as measured in sales per employee, also continuing to increase. This year marks the 20th annual edition of the study.

The largest U.S. based employer will be Wal-Mart Stores with over 2.3 million employees in 2016, up 1.6percent. The largest non-U.S. based employer will be Volkswagen, with 654,000 employees, an increase of over 4 percent.

Commercial Banks will be the largest employer with over 3.8 million employees, down slightly. The Variety Store industry, which includes Wal-Mart and Target, will be the second largest industry with over 3.2 million employees, reflecting a 1.3 percent increase. Eating Places will also employ over 3.2 million employees, up 2.5 percent.

As in the past, areas of computer software development continue to show robust workforce growth. The Prepackaged Software industry, growing at over 6 percent, includes over 190 companies employing over 840,000 workers. The Computer Programming industry, which provides services rather than a product for sale, will grow at 5.4 percent to employ over 1.4 million workers worldwide.

The change in shopping preference to buying on the Internet instead of in bricks and mortar stores is reflected in the single digit growth rates in employment in traditional retail stores as compared to Catalog and Mail Order Houses, led by Amazon, with an industry growth rate of over 19 percent in employment and 14 percent in sales.

These predictions come from the 2015 edition of Workforce Ratios & Forecasts by Schonfeld & Associates. The study contains historical employment for 2014, an estimate for 2015, and a forecast of 2016 for over 6,800 individual companies and summaries for over 400 industries. Besides headcount, Workforce Ratios & Forecasts provides Sales Per Employee, Gross Margin Per Employee, and Sales Growth Rate for each company and industry. Which of the 100 largest industries generates the highest Sales Per Employee? Answer: Crude Petroleum and Natural Gas with over $2.8 million in revenue per employee.

In an era of downsizing, right-sizing, mergers and acquisitions, Workforce Ratios & Forecasts provides clear benchmarks for competitive planning and budgeting. It can also be used by executive search firms seeking clients and by outplacement firms identifying emerging areas of employment growth.

Workforce Ratios & Forecasts is 252 pages in either printed or PDF format. The informationis also available for all companies and industries in Excel datafiles. Additional information is provided within the data to allow for analysis by corporate location or NAICS code. The 2015 edition of the report is $ 395; the report along with Excel datafiles is $ 495. Both are available from Schonfeld & Associates, Inc., 1931 Lynn Circle, Libertyville, Illinois 60048.  Call for more information:  800-205-0030 or visit the company’s web site at www.saiBooks.com under the Area of Expertise: Workplace Productivity.