Industry comparison

Information vs Retail Trade (general)

NAICS-sector comparison built from the H1B Report corpus. Filing volume, distinct sponsor count, sponsor concentration and dominant occupations.

Summary

Information (NAICS 51) and Retail Trade (NAICS 45) represent two distinct patterns of H-1B sponsorship in the US economy.

Information leads significantly on H-1B filings with 330,090 filings across 6,078 employers, averaging about 54 filings per employer. This sector encompasses software, telecommunications, and digital services—industries with sustained international talent recruitment. Retail Trade follows with 161,910 filings from 1,806 employers, averaging roughly 90 filings per employer, indicating more concentrated sponsorship among a smaller employer base.

Information's filing volume is more than double Retail Trade's, reflecting higher demand for specialized technical and professional roles. While Retail Trade employers sponsor fewer total H-1B workers, the higher per-employer average suggests those who do sponsor tend to file more frequently.

Information sector H-1B
Retail Trade H-1B sponsorship
H-1B filings by industry
NAICS 51 vs 45
H-1B employer comparison

Sector A

Information

NAICS 51Rank #2

Sector B

Retail Trade (general)

NAICS 45Rank #6

Key metrics

Filings / employer is a concentration hint — higher means a few sponsors do most of the filing.

Metric	Information	Retail Trade (general)
Total filings	330,090▲	161,910
National share %	8.61%▲	4.23%
Distinct sponsors	6,078▲	1,806
Filings / employer	54	90
Rank	#2▲	#6
Top sponsor	Microsoft Corporation	AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC (WA)
Top occupation	Software Developers	Software Developers