SIC 7629 Electrical and Electronic Repair Shops, Not Elsewhere Classified

SIC 7629

This industry category includes establishments that primarily repair electrical and electronic equipment, such as electrical household appliances and electrical and electronic industrial equipment.

NAICS CODE(S)

443111

Household Appliance Stores

811212

Computer and Office Machine Repair and Maintenance

811213

Communication Equipment Repair and Maintenance

811219

Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance

811412

Appliance Repair and Maintenance

811211

Consumer Electronics Repair and Maintenance

Specialized electronic repair emerged as an industry after electrical devices appeared in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The development of electronic standards and measuring devices in the 1890s was pivotal to the industry's birth. The profusion of new electrical and electronic goods after World War II pushed miscellaneous electrical repair industry revenues to nearly $2 billion by the end of the 1970s.

Widespread semiconductor use during the 1970s and 1980s in turn expanded the use of electronics in U.S. homes and businesses. Miniaturized electronics were integrated into traditional items, from home appliances to razors, and created new product categories, such as microwave ovens and fax machines.

Home appliance repairers held 50,000 jobs in 2004, according to the U.S. Census. About 42 percent of salaried repairers worked in retail trade establishments, especially department stores and electronics and appliance stores, and about 20 percent of repairers were self-employed. Demand for appliance repairers is expected to remain stable through 2014, even though costs for new appliances often lead consumers to replace broken products, rather than have them repaired, and do-it-yourself appliance repair is increasing through guides, advice, and access to parts via the Web, through such sites as Repair Clinic.com. Consumer Reports, in October 2005, reported results of a poll of among 2,300 subscribers that revealed readers had commissioned repairs on 16 percent fewer products, including several high cost items, than they had in 1997. In more than half of those cases, consumers purchased new products rather than repair services. U.S. News & World Report noted in 2003 that while "complex gadgets have proliferated, electronics repair shops have been vanishing—dwindling from about 40,000 nationwide in 1985 to 10,000 at the end of [2002]."

The Maytag Corporation, a sales leader of washers...