Business Visualizations

The Biggest Employers by Industry

Published

on

There are more than 30 million businesses in the U.S. — but some of those companies employ far more workers than others. Giants like Walmart and Amazon have more than a million employees working on developing, marketing, transporting and selling their products everyday. Meanwhile, lesser-known companies in industries you may not be as familiar with also employ a significant amount of our workforce.

Using Fortune 500 data, our team at The Chartistry identified the largest employers in every industry, including retail, food, health care, real estate and many more (we included a whopping 75 industries total).

Click below to zoom

The Biggest Employers by Industry

Who is the largest employer in America?

Technically, the largest employer in the U.S. is the federal government. But if we’re talking about the company that employs the most people, Walmart takes the cake.

Since Walmart’s first store opened in 1962, the company has grown to establish more than 11,500 stores globally to serve more than 260 million weekly shoppers in 28 countries, according to the company’s site. It’s no surprise that the retailer requires a lot of manpower. Walmart has 2,100,000 employees, and is the only one on our list that employs more than 2 million people.

Who else are America’s biggest employers?

Walmart may offer up the most jobs in the U.S.,but there are plenty of other companies with thousands of employees headed to work everyday. Some of the giants on the list of companies with the most employees in every industry are also among the largest U.S. employers in general.

Amazon, which started in Jeff Bezos’ garage in 1994 as an online bookseller, has grown up to make its mark around the world. There’s a good chance you’ve shopped online via the company, watched its streamer or walked past an Amazon retail store or fulfillment center. Amazon may have started with a solo founder, but it now employs 1,525,000 people.

Home Depot is another retail heavyweight. Founded in 1978 as a hardware store, the company now boasts more than 2,300 stores across North America. But offering up all that home improvement requires a lot of hands on deck: The company has 463,100 employees. That makes it the highest employer in one category of specialty retailers, but TJX, with 349,000 employees, is the largest employer in the apparel-specific specialty retailer category.

In the mail, package and freight delivery industry, you can probably guess who employs the most people. It’s FedEx, which was just an idea in 1965 when its eventual founder Frederick W. Smith wrote a paper at Yale University on the potential of a new way to get time-sensitive shipments to recipients (he received an average grade, according to the company’s website). Since then, the company makes around 14.5 million deliveries each day thanks to its 446,400 employees.

UnitedHealth Group also made our list, which makes sense, seeing as its the largest health insurance company in the U.S. Parent company of United Healthcare, the company was founded in 1977. Nowadays, it employs 440,000 people.

Curious which food and drug store is the largest employer? That would be Kroger, which had its start in 1883 when Barney Kroger invested his life savings of $372 to open a single grocery store. More than 140 years later, Kroger is the nation’s largest grocer with nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states and 414,000 employees. But if we’re talking specifically about food services, latte lovers’ favorite place, Starbucks, is the largest employer, with 381,000 employees. Looking specifically at the food consumer products industry, PepsiCo — which owns brands like Lay’s, Doritos, Gatorade, Quaker and, of course, Pepsi — is the largest employer with 318,000 employees.

The travel industry also requires tons of workers. American Airlines Group, which offers thousands of flights daily in more than 60 countries, is the largest employer in the airline industry with 132,100 people. Hilton Worldwide Holdings, meanwhile, has 178,000 employees to help run its hotels, casinos and resorts.

In the entertainment industry, a very familiar name earns the title for largest employer with its 199,125 workers: Walt Disney.

The largest U.S. employers in each industry

Here are the largest companies by employees in every industry — from hotels and airlines to pharmaceuticals and medical equipment.

Industry

Company

Number of Employees

General Merchandisers

Walmart

2,100,000

Internet Services and Retailing

Amazon

1,525,000

Specialty Retailers: Other

Home Depot

463,100

Mail, Package, and Freight Delivery

FedEx

446,400

Health Care: Insurance and Managed Care

UnitedHealth Group

440,000

Information Technology Services

Concentrix

440,000

Food and Drug Stores

Kroger

414,000

Insurance: Property and Casualty (Stock)

Berkshire Hathaway

396,500

Food Services

Starbucks

381,000

Specialty Retailers: Apparel

TJX

349,000

Food Consumer Products

PepsiCo

318,000

Commercial Banks

JPMorganChase

309,926

Health Care: Medical Facilities

HCA Healthcare

265,000

Diversified Outsourcing Services

Aramark

262,550

Health Care: Pharmacy and Other Services

CVS Health

259,500

Semiconductors and Other Electronic Components Equipment

Jabil

236,000

Computer Software

Microsoft

221,000

Entertainment

Walt Disney

199,125

Motor Vehicles & Parts

Lear

186,600

Telecommunications

Comcast

186,000

Aerospace & Defense

RTX

185,000

Hotels, Casinos, Resorts

Hilton Worldwide Holdings

178,000

Computers, Office Equipment

Apple

161,000

Food Production

Tyson Foods

139,000

Airlines

American Airlines Group

132,100

Pharmaceuticals

Johnson & Johnson

131,900

Real Estate

CBRE Group

130,000

Industrial Machinery

General Electric

125,000

Scientific, Photographic, and Control Equipment

Thermo Fisher Scientific

122,000

Medical Products and Equipment

Abbott Laboratories

114,000

Construction and Farm Machinery

Caterpillar

113,200

Transportation and Logistics

GXO Logistics

109,000

Household and Personal Products

Procter & Gamble

107,000

Network and Other Communications Equipment

Amphenol

95,000

Chemicals

3M

85,000

Diversified Financials

Marsh & McLennan

85,000

Apparel

Nike

83,700

Tobacco

Philip Morris International

82,700

Beverages

Coca-Cola

79,100

Advertising, Marketing

Omnicom Group

75,900

Wholesalers: Food and Grocery

Sysco

71,750

Insurance: Property and Casualty (Mutual)

State Farm Insurance

65,054

Petroleum Refining

Exxon Mobil

61,500

Financial Data Services

Fidelity National Information Services

60,000

Wholesalers: Diversified

Genuine Parts

60,000

Electronics, Electrical Equipment

Whirlpool

59,000

Oil And Gas Equipment, Services

Baker Hughes

58,000

Packaging And Containers

WestRock

56,100

Securities

Edward Jones

54,000

Engineering and Construction

Quanta Services

52,500

Home Equipment, Furnishings

Stanley Black & Decker

50,500

Waste Management

Waste Management

48,000

Wholesalers: Health Care

McKesson

48,000

Insurance: Life, Health (Stock)

MetLife

45,000

Trucking, Truck Leasing

J.B. Hunt Transport Services

34,718

Toys, Sporting Goods

Mattel

33,000

Railroads

Union Pacific

32,973

Metals

Nucor

32,000

Automotive Retailing, Services

CarMax

30,621

Building Materials, Glass

Builders FirstSource

29,000

Utilities: Gas and Electric

PG&E

28,010

Wholesalers: Electronics and Office Equipment

TD Synnex

28,000

Temporary Help

Manpower Group

27,900

Mining, Crude-Oil Production

Freeport-McMoRan

27,200

Equipment Leasing

United Rentals

26,300

Publishing, Printing

News Corp.

25,000

Miscellaneous

Service Corporation International

21,267

Transportation Equipment

Polaris

18,500

Energy

NRG Energy

18,131

Education

Graham Holdings

17,006

Insurance: Life, Health (Mutual)

TIAA

16,023

Pipelines

Energy Transfer

13,786

Homebuilders

D.R. Horton

13,450

Forest and Paper Products

Domtar

13,000

Shipping

Kirby Corporation

5,450

Don’t miss our other visuals (Chartistry Originals) that give insight into some of the biggest employers in the U.S, including our map of the biggest Fortune 500 companies in every state, breakdown of America’s most valuable companies ranked by profit per employee and original chart of everything owned by Apple.

Source:

Fortune 500

Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Business Visualizations

Chart Tracks E-Commerce Brands with the Biggest Gains and Losses

Published

on

Online shopping, known as e-commerce, took the shopping world by storm. Today, one-fifth of all retail sales come from e-commerce. Economists predict e-commerce will only continue to grow in the coming years. This industry can be lucrative but not without risks. The competition is tight as the team at LLCAttorney proves with this chart tracking the e-commerce brands with the biggest gains and losses. The results show the shifting e-commerce landscape and just how much of a difference there is between leading retailers and struggling brands.

Click below to zoom.

Worldwide eCommerce Brands That Had the Highest Earnings and the Biggest Losses Over the Past Year

As we would expect from this global-dominant brand, Amazon leads the e-commerce industry with the biggest gains. In 2025, Amazon’s revenue amounted to a whopping $95.22 billion. Ever since Amazon debuted as a bookseller in 1994, it has had a meteoric rise, earning more each year. The biggest leap in the company’s earnings occurred between 2017 and 2018, with a 172.8% increase. Amazon only suffered one year in the red after it invested heavily in Rivian, a failed electric vehicle venture. Amazon’s massive catalog of over 12 million products, its entertainment subscription services, digital books, and convenient, fast delivery service make Amazon the powerhouse it is today.

Right behind Amazon, we find the Chinese brand, Alibaba, which earned $21.76 billion in 2025. Alibaba sells a wide range of products at wholesale prices. You’ll find electronics, home goods, beauty products, and even industrial supplies in their offerings. Alibaba’s business-to-business marketplace, which connects small and mid-size businesses directly to manufacturers, allows them to source bulk goods and makes this brand a popular choice. Other Chinese brands top the e-commerce earnings list too, like PDD Holdings (Pinduoduo) and Jingdong Mall (JD.com). Each of the top four e-commerce companies earned over 5 billion in revenue.

Turning to the other end of the chart, we find the brand with the most losses in 2025: Lightspeed POS. They reported a devastating $670 million loss. They earned $1.15 billion, but it wasn’t enough to cover their expenses. This Canadian e-commerce brand is a point-of-sale system for retailers and restaurants. It was once considered a promising company with rapid growth, but its revenue has shrunk significantly in the past few years as competitors have taken bites out of Lightspeed POS’s market. The British brand, ASOS, a clothing retailer, also suffered a massive $500 billlion loss in 2025. American brand Wayfair suffered losses, too, which is surprising considering its past popularity as an affordable home goods retailer with a big selection.

The figures we see here demonstrate that e-commerce is an industry with diverse companies and varying success rates. With tremendous gains and equally earth-shattering losses, we can see e-commerce is volatile, competitive, full of opportunities and challenges alike. The team’s data show that the industry’s biggest giants will be difficult to surpass. Companies like Amazon have set an astronomically high bar for success.

Continue Reading

Business Visualizations

Map Displays Unemployment Rates Around the World

Published

on

The unemployment rate is a percentage that reflects the number of people in the labor force who are without a job. This is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the labor force and multiplying by 100. Because unemployment can have a drastic impact on a nation’s economy, the team at Qualtrics examined global patterns and mapped unemployment rates. To be considered unemployed for this study means a person doesn’t have a job but is available for work. That means people who are retired, disabled, or laid off don’t count in the figures.

Click below to zoom.

Unemployment Rates Around the World

According to the team’s data, the country with the highest employment rate is Eswatini at 37.64%. This is a landlocked nation in Southern Africa, formerly known as Swaziland. This is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies, and it suffers economically like many of its neighbors, including South Africa, Botswana, and the Republic of the Congo. In particular, the youth of Eswatini are unemployed. The unemployment crisis is attributed to skill gaps in eligible workers.

It’s good to be at the low end of the unemployment spectrum. The nation Qatar has the lowest unemployment rate in the world at .13%. This comes as no surprise from a nation rich in petroleum and natural gas. Qatar has valuable real estate and has long been a haven for the wealthy, which lends itself to a booming economy with plenty of employment opportunities. Other nations that aren’t struggling with unemployment are Cambodia, Niger, and Thailand, due to high manufacturing production and/or a bustling tourism industry.

These countries have the lowest unemployment rates:

  • Qatar
  • Cambodia
  • Niger
  • Thailand
  • Burundi
  • Chad
  • Bahrain
  • Cuba
  • Laos
  • Benin

We see a very wide gap between the countries with the highest and lowest unemployment rates. Many factors can affect unemployment, but one of the biggest is changes in the size of the labor force. A struggling economy doesn’t necessarily indicate a high unemployment rate. If it’s difficult enough to find a job, people will give up, and they’ll no longer be counted in the unemployment numbers. That said, the unemployment rate does tend to increase in hard times. Global unemployment peaked in 2009 during the financial crisis.

In summary, unemployment rates reveal much about the economic health and social dynamics of countries worldwide. While nations like Eswatini face challenges due to skill gaps and limited job opportunities, others, such as Qatar, benefit from abundant resources and thriving industries. The disparity highlights how factors such as labor force size, economic stability, and industry growth affect employment levels. Understanding these global patterns is essential for policymakers and organizations aiming to address unemployment and foster sustainable growth. By analyzing the causes and consequences, we can better support individuals and communities striving for economic security and opportunity.

Continue Reading

Business Visualizations

Key Statistics Help Us Understand Customer Churn

Published

on

Customers have an abundance of choice in all industries these days. When customers switch to a new option, companies call this “customer churn.” Customer churn can be a major detriment to business. In nearly every industry, loyal repeat customers can make or break a business. The team at Qualtrics helps us understand the state of customer churn in the past year with 30 key statistics illustrating the landscape. They took a well-rounded approach to their research, using facts that reveal how many customers are leaving, which industries have high churn, and other factors that help us understand why customer churn happens and how to prevent it.

Click below to zoom.

30 Statistics About Customer Churn

Customer churn gives businesses a way to quantify how well they’re retaining customers. Churn rate is calculated by dividing the number of customers lost over a set period of time by the total number of customers at the start of that period. This calculation yields the number of customers who didn’t return to do business. High churn rates often signal poor retention strategies or a mismatch between what customers expected and received. We can’t underestimate competitor appeal, though. The team’s data shows that 71% of businesses list price increases as their number one reason for losing customers.

The data make it clear that churn rates vary widely across industries. 61% of retail companies say churn rates are one of the biggest challenges in their quest for success. This could be due to the high level of competition and vastly different prices found in the retail sector. Financial, cable, and credit companies experience high churn rates too, around 25%. We can conclude that spending and saving may have the greatest impact on churn, based on industry rates. The big-box electronics industry only has an 11% churn rate, possibly due to fewer choices, but it may have stronger brand loyalty. For example, you’ll rarely see an X-Box fan make the switch to PlayStation. Speaking of the gaming space, apps don’t enjoy the same low churn rate as consoles might. With a 27.7% churn rate, many people give up on gaming apps and try something new after 30 days.

Data might point the way to solutions to reduce customer churn. We can see subscription-based companies with an exceptionally low churn rate of 3.27%. Software and business subscriptions have lower churn rates than digital media and entertainment subscriptions, but they are still among the lowest we’re seeing. A subscription-based service works hard to keep its subscribers, so maybe other types of businesses could learn something from its strategies. For example, social media apps have an enormous churn rate of 93.3% over 24 months. It’s clear that whatever value customers hoped to get from the platform didn’t materialize.

This information-rich graphic leaves us with a lot to think about. By comparing churn rates across industries, we can reflect on key differences that affect these numbers. Perhaps the most important statistic to hold on to is that U.S. companies could save over $35 billion per year by reducing their churn rates.

Continue Reading


Advertisement

Trending