To honor September as Washington Retail’s third Careers in Retail Month promotion, Gov. Jay Inslee has issued a proclamation calling attention to the event.

The month recognizes the start of the retail holiday hiring season and the industry’s significant impact on the state economy. Nearly 400,000 people work in retail across the state supporting a total payroll of nearly $20 billion.

The proclamation also recognizes that nearly half the retail jobs are non-sales positions and that 62% of store managers advanced their careers through training programs offered by their employers.