November Kronos Retail Labor Index Highest Reading Since August 2008
The November report contains data for October 2012. The index is the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. Kronos data sample includes retailers representing 18,837 distributed locations across the U.S. Last month, the retailers made 35,160 hires (seasonally adjusted), an increase of 6.7 percent from September 2012; the first increase in five months, putting the amount of October hires 5.2 percent above its level one year ago.
“The increase in the Index this month reflected a solid, 6.7 percent gain in hires while applications were essentially unchanged, in contrast to recent months when sharp declines in applications – not a surge in hiring – were pushing the Index higher,” said Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder of Macroeconomic Advisers, the company that does the analysis and write-up. “Strong readings on retail sales in September likely boosted retailer confidence, contributing to the pick-up in October hiring.”
Companies that use Kronos hiring solutions employ around 15 percent of the U.S. consumer retail labor market, which Kronos notes gives it a unique set of data on employee job applications, hires, and length of service.
View the full report here.