Kronos Retail Labor Index™ Shows Retail Hiring Up, but Outpaced by Applications Received
CHELMSFORD, Mass., July 12, 2010 — Kronos® Incorporated today announced the July 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 July report includes data for June 2010. The report is available on the Kronos Retail Labor Index website.
News Facts
- 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 decreased to 3.47 this month, down 7.85 percent (on a relative basis) from 3.80 in June.
- Retail Hiring Level: The retailers representing 27,034 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos data sample recorded 58,231 hirings (on a seasonally adjusted basis) in June 2010, an increase of 18.97 percent from the May 2010 seasonally adjusted figure of 46,902. This also represented a significant increase of 30.44 percent from the 40,508 hirings that occurred in June 2009.
- Retail Applications Level: The supply of applications increased to an even greater degree than hirings, up 35 percent, to a seasonally adjusted level of 1,671,839 in June. The June 2010 figure represented a 14.70 percent increase compared with the 1,426,051 applications processed in June 2009.
- Retail Employee Retention Rate: Employee retention increased again in June 2010 as compared with June 2009; employees were 3.42 percent more likely to have a length of service of 60 days or more. This is smaller than the increase seen between April 2010 and April 2009, but slightly larger than that between May 2010 and May 2009.
Supporting Quotes
- Dr. Robert Yerex, chief economist, Kronos
"The number of hirings that occurred in June increased 18.97 percent over the previous month and 30.44 percent over the same month last year, which is positive news for job seekers. However, June's increase in hiring was smaller than the increase in applications received, driving the Kronos Retail Labor Index down again this month."
"Retail spending continues to be dampened by high unemployment, a trend by consumers to reduce revolving credit and increase savings, as well as continued decreases in asset values, especially home equity. The end of emergency Federal unemployment benefits is likely to put additional downward pressure on consumer spending in the coming months as this will withdraw as much as $3.2 billion a month from the retail economy."
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.
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© 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.
Contact
Michele Glorie
Kronos Incorporated
+1 978.947.2855
michele.glorie@kronos.com