FIN DeskOriginally published June 6, 2025. This version was rebuilt from Alignable's survey, the Census Bureau's retail report and the BLS May jobs report for the FIN archive, and the facts are as of that date.
Early June 2025 showed a split in the furniture business. Industry sales were growing, but many small home furnishings owners said their income had collapsed.
The short version
- Alignable found 59% of home furnishings small business owners earning half or less compared with 2024.
- Census showed April furniture store sales up 7.8% from a year earlier.
- The BLS said furniture and home furnishings retailers lost 1,900 jobs in May.
Small owners squeezed
Alignable's survey found that 59% of home furnishings small business owners said they were earning half or less of what they made in 2024, one of the highest shares among the sectors it listed. The figure refers to the owners' earnings, not total industry sales, and the home furnishings group covers more than furniture stores.
The industry overall
The Census Bureau's advance estimate showed April sales at furniture and home furnishings stores up 7.8% from a year earlier.
Jobs tell the same story
The BLS jobs report released June 6 showed payrolls up 139,000 in May with unemployment at 4.2%. Furniture and home furnishings retailers employed 405,600 people on a seasonally adjusted basis, down 1,900 from April and about 2,400 fewer than in May 2024.
Furniture manufacturing lost 1,000 jobs in May to 337,100, about 7,400 below a year earlier. Private-sector average hourly earnings rose 3.9% over 12 months, adding to the cost pressure on small owners already reporting lower income.
Rising sales alongside falling headcount pointed to stores doing more with fewer people rather than to a broad recovery.
Two different stories
Industry totals hid a lot of pain at the small end. Independent stores needed to watch cash and margins closely even when the headline numbers looked fine.
Related on FIN
Sources
- Alignable, Small business revenue report, May 2025
- U.S. Census Bureau, Advance monthly retail sales, April 2025
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation, May 2025 (June 6, 2025)
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