Kronos Retail Labor Index Shows Retail Hiring on the Rise
CHELMSFORD, Mass., May 9, 2011 — Kronos Incorporated today announced the May 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 May report includes data for March and April of 2011. The analysis and write-up is prepared by Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, and is available on the Kronos Retail Labor Index website.
News Facts
- The Kronos Retail Labor Index: (This index is defined as the ratio of hires to applicants within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0 percent means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred). The Kronos Retail Labor Index rose to 3.7 percent in April 2011 from 3.5 percent in March 2011, reflecting both a decline in applications as well as an increase in hires, all on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Retail Hiring Level: The retailers representing 14,625 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos® data sample recorded 41,097 hires (seasonally adjusted) in April 2011, up from 40,463 hires in March 2011.
Supporting Quotes
- Chris Varvares, Senior Managing Director and Co-Founder, Macroeconomic Advisers
"The rise in the Kronos Retail Labor Index is encouraging for both the retail sector and the economy generally. The Retail Labor Index has gradually trended upward, albeit unevenly, over the last year, reflecting significant gains in hiring and a relatively flat level of applications received from month to month. Since the trough of the recession, monthly hires in the Kronos sample are up 40 percent, indicating a significant bounce-back in retail hiring built upon the solid rebound seen in consumer spending and retail sales specifically. The flatness in the number of applications over the past year is consistent with the overall firming in the labor market. Fewer layoffs likely mean fewer new job seekers submitting applications to firms in the Kronos sample."
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, hires, 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 Retail Labor Index methodology; and downloadable graphics.
- Note to reporters: cite Index findings as "Kronos Retail Labor Index".
- About Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC
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.
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© 2011 Kronos Incorporated. All rights reserved. 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.
Contact
Laura Souza
Kronos Incorporated
+1 978.947.9477
laura.souza@kronos.com