According to a report by the U.S. Labor Department, jobs at dealerships selling new cars have dropped to their lowest numbers since the year 2000, a further reflection of the shaky economy's effect on the automotive industry.

The most recent data collected in February showed that 1,096,100 workers in the U.S held jobs in franchised dealerships, almost identical to the 2000 numbers. The peak for dealerships jobs was in September 2005 when the number stood at 1,151,000.

The chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, Paul Taylor, cited causes for the downturn including fewer dealerships, decreases in vehicle sales in response to the credit crisis in America, and better technology at existing dealerships making fewer workers necessary.

The number of dealerships in the United States has declined by 800 since 2003 with the current figure standing at approximately 21,522 according to data compiled by Automotive News.

AutoNation Inc. and Asbury Automotive Group, both major national dealerships, said when sales personnel leave the company, they are not currently being replaced. At the same time, however, the situation is somewhat offset by increased hires of office and general-labor employees hired to meet customer service demands.

Since 2003 the number of sales personnel in dealerships has dropped from 254,800 to 229,100. Service technicians dropped from 264,200 to 257,200 while supervisors and other office employees climbed from 282,100 to 284,100. These number reflect information collected by the U.S Department of Labor.