Susan Mahmoudi greets customers with a warm smile at Femme de Carriere, a women’s clothing store at the Eaton Centre. But when she thinks about her paycheque, she grimaces.

“I make $13 an hour and I have been working here for two years, no raise,” says the 45-year-old single mother. “After taxes, I make $1,600 a month. How can I live with that money? That is not even enough for one person.”

Mahmoudi has one of the most common jobs in Canada — the retail clerk — according to new data from the 2011 National Household Survey released Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

It is also one of the lowest paid and unstable ways to make a living, say economists who have been sounding the alarm about the social and economic impact of the rise in so-called “precarious employment.”

“Retail salesperson” was ranked as the most common occupation for both women (4.7 per cent) and men (3.3 per cent), according to the survey.

The retail sector boasted 1.9 million workers, representing 11.5 per cent of the country’s workforce, overtaking manufacturing as the largest field of employment for Canadians.

Manufacturing, which in 2006 employed 11.8 per cent of Canadian workers, dropped to third place at 9.2 per cent. Health care and social assistance sectors now run a close second to retail at 11.4 per cent, according to the survey.

“Today’s results are a real comment on the impact of the (2008 recession), said Armine Yalnizyan of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

“The more our economic recovery and growth is based on a sector known for its low wages and for ignoring pensions and benefits, the more fragile the recovery is,” she said in an interview.

“To the extent that we are now largely reliant on one of the sectors that is most likely to treat workers as disposable, this is a cautionary note,” she added.

Jonathan Hunter, 47, says he’s lucky he doesn’t have a family because he doesn’t know how he would support one on his retail wages.

“I make enough to live on, but I don’t have any kids,” said the shoe repair store clerk. “If I did, that would be a problem.”

Hunter, who has worked in retail for most of his life, says he hasn’t seen the dentist in years because benefits in his line of work are rare.

Jessica Clausen, 24, sells men’s shirts on Yonge St. for $10.25 an hour, but still clings to the hope of becoming a Broadway star. The drama school graduate has been working in retail for several years while she dabbles in community theatre and waits for her big break.

“My job title is actor, which means I work in retail,” she said, with a laugh.

A report on unstable work and household wellbeing released in February found that barely half of Toronto and Hamilton-area workers have permanent, full-time work with benefits. As a result, these workers experience increased household stress and limited ability to participate in their communities, said the report by McMaster University and United Way Toronto

“Retail is often a place-holder for university students who can’t find work in their field, but they often never escape because there is nothing to move on to,” said the report’s author Wayne Lewchuk, a labour and economics professor at McMaster University.

“For others who were turfed out of good jobs, it’s the only place they can go,” he said.

The federal Tories and both Ontario’s Liberal government and NDP party have asked for briefings on the report, Lewchuk said.

“There is a recognition . . . that something needs to change.” he said. “Whether we’re at the crisis point where they actually make change is another question. But I think it is on the radar.”

According to the 2011 StatsCan survey, women comprised slightly less than half of the employed labour force (48 per cent).

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

For women, the other most common professions were administrative assistant, registered nurse, cashier and elementary school teacher.

For men, the other top jobs were transport truck driver, retail trade manager, carpenter, janitor, caretaker and building superintendent.

The data are drawn from the 2011 National Household Survey, a voluntary survey that replaced the mandatory long-form census. Because the survey is voluntary, its data are considered less accurate than previous census results.