TYSONS, Va. — Employment and payroll at U.S. new-car dealerships continued to rise in 2018, according to the latest report released today by the National Automobile Dealers Association. In 2018, the nation’s 16,753 franchised new-car dealerships employed 1,136,600 workers, up 0.5% from the previous year, according to NADA Data 2018.

“Direct employment at new-car dealerships once again topped 1.1 million employees at the end of 2018,” said NADA Senior Economist Patrick Manzi. “In addition to direct employment provided by new-car dealerships, hundreds of thousands of other jobs in local communities are dependent on dealerships.”

Payroll at new-car dealerships topped $66.5 billion in 2018, up 1.9% from the previous year. On average, dealership employees earned $1,134 per week, up 1.8% from 2017.

“For the past several years, dealership employees have seen steady increases in their incomes as well as their total compensation,” Manzi added. “Dealership jobs offer compensation that is significantly higher than other retail sectors, and dealers continue to boast one of the highest average salaries of all industries.”

Other highlights from NADA Data 2018 include:

• For the second consecutive year, total sales (new- and used-car sales plus service, parts, F&I, and more) topped $1 trillion.

• At the end of 2018, the average selling price of a new and used vehicle sold at franchised new-car dealerships was $35,608 and $20,586, respectively.

• Net pretax profit per dealership as a percentage of total sales (new- and used-vehicle sales, service, parts, F&I, and body shop) continued to decline: 2016 (2.5%); 2017 (2.3%); and 2018 (2.2%)

• Since 2009, service and parts sales on average per dealership increased by 5.5% per year on an annualized basis.

To read the full report, click here.