U.S. Dealership Employment Tops 1 Million

The number of people employed at car dealerships in the U.S. grew 3% to 1 million last year, reports the National Automobile Dealers Assn.

It's the first time dealership jobs have surpassed 1 million since 2008. Employment was above 1.1 million in 2005 but skidded to about 900,000 in 2010.

The average U.S. dealership posted sales of $41.3 million last year, up 9%, according to NADA. New-car sales rose 5%, but average per-dealer gross margins slipped to 3.8% from 4.2% in 2012.