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Kronos Retail Labor Index Shows Retail Hiring Slows, but Remains Well Above Recession Levels

CHELMSFORD, Mass., June 6, 2011 — Kronos Incorporated today announced the June release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index™, a family of metrics and indices that characterize the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector. The June report includes data for May 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 edged down to 3.5 percent in May from 3.7 percent in April 2011.
  • Retail Hiring Level: The retailers representing 14,625 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos®data sample recorded 38,335 hires (seasonally adjusted) in May 2011, down from a revised 39,656 hires in April 2011.
  • Retail Applications Level: The number of applications received by retailers in the Kronos sample rose in May 2011, to 1,091,107 from a revised 1,085,646 in April 2011, all on a seasonally adjusted basis.
  • Retail 60-Day Retention Rate: The 60-day retention rate rose to 84.7 percent in January (a record high) from 84.1 percent in December. (Note: There is a four month lag on this indicator as two months are required to measure whether a hire remained employed for 60 days and Kronos clients have two months to return data on hires and separations.)

Supporting Quotes

  • Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers
    "The Kronos Retail Labor Index was nearly unchanged in May at 3.5 percent and has remained between 3 percent and 4 percent for ten of the last eleven months. This range characterizes a relatively good hiring environment, with nearly 30 fresh applicants for each hire. Hiring did edge lower in May, but remained strong compared to year-ago levels. Retailers in the Kronos sample hired nearly 22 percent more workers in May 2011 than they did a year earlier."

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 Retail Labor Index release dates; the Retail Labor Index methodology; and downloadable graphics.
  • Note to reporters:  cite 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