Jobs and Payroll Up at New-Car Dealerships -- MCLEAN, Va., July 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- PRNewsFoto/National Automobile Dealers Association MCLEAN, Va., July 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As the U.S. economy gains momentum and auto sales increase, employment at franchised new-car dealerships continued to rise, up 3.2% last year, says the National Automobile Dealers Association in its latest state-of-the-industry report. Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120104/DC30041LOGO In 2012, total employment at new-car dealerships increased to 963,400 employees, up from 933,500 the previous year, according to NADA Data 2013, a report on dealership sales and financial trends. The average number of employees per dealership rose from 53 to 55 last year. There was also a net increase of 95 franchised dealerships, bringing the total to 17,635 at the end of 2012. New-car dealerships had an annual average payroll of $2.9 million in 2012, up 12% from the previous year. The total payroll for all U.S. new-car dealerships was $51.6 billion, up 12.6%. Average weekly earnings of employees at U.S. new-car dealerships last year was $1,030, up 9.1% from the previous year. Sales, payroll and employment and at new-car dealerships as a percentage of total U.S. retail activity in 2012: Sales accounted for 14.9% of total U.S. retail sales. Payroll accounted for 12.3% of total U.S. retail payroll. Employees accounted for 6.3% of total U.S. retail employment. Click here for NADA Data 2013. The NADA Story NADA has been the voice of the dealer since 1917. That's when 30 auto dealers traveled to the nation's capital to convince Congress not to impose a luxury tax on the automobile. They successfully argued that the automobile is a necessity of American life, not a luxury. From that experience was born the National Automobile Dealers Association. Today, NADA represents nearly 16,000 new-car and -truck dealerships with more than 32,000 franchises, both domestic and international. For more information, visit www.nada.org. SOURCE National Automobile Dealers Association RELATED LINKS http://www.nada.org/ http://www.nada.org/Publications/NADADATA/2013