Sales and Related Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages High openings flow SOC 41-1011

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

About 125,100 projected annual openings shape how to read First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers against Sales Engineers, Demonstrators and Product Promoters, Travel Agents, Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers: Sales Engineers ($125K) , Demonstrators and Product Promoters ($39K) , Travel Agents ($50K) , Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products ($72K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 41-1011 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints
  2. 2. Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or in performing services for customers
  3. 3. Formulate pricing policies for merchandise, according to profitability requirements
  4. 4. Examine merchandise to ensure that it is correctly priced and displayed and that it functions as advertised
  5. 5. Monitor sales activities to ensure that customers receive satisfactory service and quality goods
  6. 6. Instruct staff on how to handle difficult and complicated sales
  7. 7. Assign employees to specific duties
  8. 8. Hire, train, and evaluate personnel in sales or marketing establishments, promoting or firing workers when appropriate
  9. 9. Keep records of purchases, sales, and requisitions
  10. 10. Plan and coordinate advertising campaigns and sales promotions and prepare merchandise displays and advertising copy
  11. 11. Perform work activities of subordinates, such as cleaning and organizing shelves and displays and selling merchandise
  12. 12. Plan and prepare work schedules and keep records of employees' work schedules and time cards

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 41-1011 - lead skill Active Listening at 3.9 ; lead knowledge Customer and Personal Service. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 3.9
  2. 2. Speaking 3.8
  3. 3. Service Orientation 3.8
  4. 4. Critical Thinking 3.5
  5. 5. Monitoring 3.5
  6. 6. Social Perceptiveness 3.5
  7. 7. Coordination 3.5
  8. 8. Persuasion 3.3

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Customer and Personal Service 4.8
  2. 2. Administration and Management 4.5
  3. 3. Sales and Marketing 3.9
  4. 4. English Language 3.9
  5. 5. Education and Training 3.6
  6. 6. Personnel and Human Resources 3.3
Projected annual openings
125,100
growth + transfers + exits
National median $48,520/yr
$49K
National median
↓ -5%
Growth 2024-2034
1,121,800
Estimated US jobs
Sales Engineers
Highest-pay peer · $125K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education High school diploma or equivalent
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

1. Connecticut $56,510
2. New Jersey $57,320
3. Colorado $58,200
4. District of Columbia $58,470
5. South Dakota $56,680
6. Washington $60,750
7. Alaska $57,080
8. Rhode Island $58,570
9. Massachusetts $57,490
10. New York $58,300

Other Sales and Related Occupations titles

  1. 1. Travel Agents $50,160
  2. 2. Demonstrators and Product Promoters $39,320
  3. 3. Sales Engineers $124,900
  4. 4. Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products $72,080
  5. 5. Advertising Sales Agents $64,820
  6. 6. Insurance Sales Agents $62,280

Roughly 125,100 projected annual openings (growth, transfers, exits) are the scale signal for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. Median pay is $48,520 in Sales and Related Occupations.

Employment Projections expect -5% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). BLS assigns High school diploma or equivalent as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: Connecticut at $56,510. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Sales Engineers at $124,900. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers pay-rank #12 in Sales and Related Occupations

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers sits at pay-rank #12 of 22 detailed Sales and Related Occupations, the middle third of the major-group median table. ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.

Other mid-table titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

SOC 41-1011 · national median $48,520 · middle third of Sales and Related Occupations (#12/22). Open the full OEWS map or a named state before treating the card median as a local ask.

First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 41-1011

Connecticut · top state for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

$57K published median

New Jersey · #2 state pay

$57K · behind Connecticut

Sales Engineers

Highest-pay peer vs First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers · $125K

Demonstrators and Product Promoters

Lower-pay peer beside First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers · $39K

Compare First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers with another occupation →

Openings and labor-flow next reads

Most Openings Rankings

Labor-flow scale across occupations

Compare openings side-by-side

Head-to-head with another role

Frequently Asked Questions

Is First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers mid-table among Sales and Related Occupations? ▼
Yes: pay-rank #12 of 22 detailed Sales and Related Occupations, the middle third. Mid-table neighbors: Models ($48K), Sales and Related Workers, All Other ($48K), Travel Agents ($50K), Real Estate Sales Agents ($53K). ROW_NUMBER on median; title breaks ties.
What do first-line supervisors of retail sales workers do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. Leading ones include: Provide customer service by greeting and assisting customers and responding to customer inquiries and complaints; Direct and supervise employees engaged in sales, inventory-taking, reconciling cash receipts, or in performing services for customers; Formulate pricing policies for merchandise, according to profitability requirements; Examine merchandise to ensure that it is correctly priced and displayed and that it functions as advertised. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for first-line supervisors of retail sales workers? ▼
For SOC 41-1011, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (3.9), Speaking (3.8), Service Orientation (3.8), Critical Thinking (3.5). Knowledge areas emphasize Customer and Personal Service, Administration and Management, Sales and Marketing. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
What is the OEWS national median for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers? ▼
May 2025 OEWS reports $48,520 as the national median for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. The published 10th-90th range is $33,120 to $77,080. Beside Sales Engineers ($124,900), this is the occupation-level national figure, not a local offer.
What employment change does BLS publish for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers is -5%. Projected annual openings: about 125,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers? ▼
Connecticut ($56,510), New Jersey ($57,320), Colorado ($58,200) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 41-1011. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics