Kronos Retail Labor Index™ Shows Retail Hiring and Applications down in last month of 2009
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CHELMSFORD, Mass., Jan. 11, 2010 — Kronos® Incorporated today announced the January release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index™, a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, and provide a distinct and early indicator of the overall state of the economy. The January 2010 release includes data for December 2009. The report is available on the Kronos Retail Labor Index website.
News Facts
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The Kronos Retail Labor Index: (This metric is defined as the percentage of job applications that result in a hiring, normalized within a scale of 0 to 100. A level of 3.00 percent means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred). The Kronos Retail Labor Index increased to 4.02 percent in December 2009, up from 3.87 in November. This marked the highest level the Index reached in 2009.
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Retail Hiring Level: The 68 retailers representing 27,034 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos data sample recorded 46,892 hirings in December of 2009 (on a seasonally adjusted basis). This was a decrease of 5.10 percent from the seasonally adjusted figure for November 2009 of 49,412 and was 7.10 percent lower than the 50, 219 hirings in December of 2008.
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Retail Applications Level: The supply of applications decreased 7.81 percent to a seasonally adjusted level of 1,167,986 in December, continuing the downward trend first noted in November 2009 when 1,266,902 applications were received.
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Retail Employee Retention Rate: Continuing the trend of increased employee retention, the 60-day retention rate for December 2009 was 3.78 percent higher than it was in December 2008.
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2009 Year-in-Review: In reviewing application data collected for 2009, the following changes in the overall applicant pool were noted:
- Baby-boomer generation applicants increased while Generation Y applicant percentages decreased.
- The percentage of males in the over 25 year-old applicant pool increased from 45 percent (in Q4 2006) to 52 percent (in Q4 2009).
- Applicants were willing to drive 7.2 percent further for a job than in 2008.
- Significantly fewer applicants indicated that they were seeking part-time employment during the traditional holiday hiring season.
- The percentage of unsolicited applications increased versus those generated through targeted advertising or employee referral.
Supporting Quotes
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Dr. Robert Yerex, Ph.D., chief economist, Kronos
"At first glance, this month's number is a bit deceiving. The Kronos Retail Labor Index is up – but hiring is down. The key here is that application levels were down more significantly than hiring. So for the smaller number of folks who were still applying for retail jobs, the chances of getting hired were better."
"In looking at the data collected since 2006, it was interesting to note the changes in the applicant pool in 2009. We're looking at an older, higher male applicant population who are willing to drive further and want to work full-time. These folks are likely victims of the recent recession which disproportionately affected men and made all potential employees willing to go a bit further for a paycheck."
Supporting Resources
- Organizations that use Kronos hiring solutions employ approximately 15 percent of the U.S. consumer retail labor market, providing Kronos with a unique set of data on employee job applications, hirings, and length of service.
- The Kronos Retail Labor Index is released on a monthly basis. Go to www.kronos.com/retail-labor-index to access: the full report; a schedule of upcoming Index release dates; the Index methodology; and downloadable graphics.
- Note to reporters: cite Index findings as "Kronos Retail Labor Index".
About the Kronos Retail Labor Index
The Kronos Retail Labor Index is a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and the supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector. It is derived from a single, unified data set, allowing for statistically appropriate comparisons and time series-based trending analysis. Firms that use Kronos hiring solutions employ approximately 15 percent of the U.S. consumer retail labor market, providing Kronos with a unique set of data on employee job applications, hirings, and length of service. The Kronos Retail Labor Index provides a distinct and early indicator of the health of the retail sector.
About Kronos Incorporated
Kronos is the global leader in workforce management solutions that enable organizations to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Tens of thousands of organizations in 60 countries — including more than half of the Fortune 1000® — use Kronos time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications. To learn how Kronos uniquely delivers complete automation and high-quality information in an easy-to-use solution, visit www.kronos.com.
© 2010 Kronos Incorporated. Kronos is a registered trademark and Kronos Retail Labor Index is a trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.