Key Findings:

In January 2003, there were 62,363 professionals employed in Illinois’s 13,252 beauty salons, barber shops, skin care salons, and nail salons. The typical salon is a small full-service salon with 5 workstations, 2 full-time professionals and 2 or 3 part-time professionals. Illinois salon owners report an average of 159 clients per week, which is about the same as the national average.

The salon industry is a job-seekers market, with 49% of the salon owners reporting job openings. More than 19,332 open positions were filled in 2002. These include both experienced salon professionals changing positions (68% of the new hires) and inexperienced professionals with less than one year’s experience (32% of the new hires). The supply does not appear to be keeping up with demand. Approximately 9 out of every 10 salon owners who solicited new employees in 2002 reported difficulty in finding qualified personnel.

Other key findings:

• 59% of Illinois salon owners classified their salon as a full-service salon, 19% as a hair cutting salon, and 9% as a nail salon.
• 54% of salon employees work full time, 33% are part time (20-35 hours), and 13% are low time (less than 20 hours).
• The average salon income, including tips, is about $30,000-50,000 per year.
• The typical salon replaced almost one of every three employees during the year.
• While nail technicians represnt only 13% of the current industry employees, 19% of the anticipated vacancies call for professionals with those skills. Employers also report plans to increase the number of massage therapists.