Updated National Industry Profile

An updated version of the National Industry Profile will be available in January 2007. PBA members whose dues are paid for 2007 will automatically receive a complimentary copy. Here are some insights from the new edition:

• There are more than 742,000 salon-industry establishments in the United States. Beauty salons and spas represent 70 percent of all establishments. Nail salons comprise 17 percent, while barber shops represent 13 percent.

• 87% of beauty salons and spas are non-employers, meaning they have no payroll employees. With the exception of unpaid family workers, individuals who work at non-employer establishments are classified as self-employed or independent contractors.

• After remaining relatively flat during the late-1990s, the number of non-employer beauty salons and spas increased steadily beginning in 2000. Between 1999 and 2004, the number of non-employer beauty salons and spas jumped 28%, or nearly 100,000 establishments. During the same five-year period, the number of employment-based salons and spas increased approximately 1 percent, or about 600 establishments.

• In 2004, the most recent year for which sales figures are available, the overall salon industry registered total sales of $33.2 billion-up 64% from a sales volume of $20.2 billion in 1997. Approximately 57% of 2004 salon-industry sales were at employment-based establishments, while non-employer establishments accounted for roughly 43% of sales.

• Nearly 790,000 professionals work in personal appearance occupations in the United States. Of the 609,614 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists, 45% (or 277,190) are self-employed.

• By 2014, more than 915,000 professionals are projected to work in personal appearance occupations in the United States, an increase of more than 125,000 jobs (or 15.9%) above its 2004 level.

Note: Some PBA members have stated that the numbers included in the profile seem inconsistent with industry data. It is important to understand that the profile is based upon data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics-what our industry reports to the government. Thus, the profile accurately reflects the federal government's perception of our industry and is critical for our government affairs outreach.