Kronos Retail Labor Index Shows Retailers Hiring More Workers as Pool of Applicants Increases
CHELMSFORD, Mass., Aug. 8, 2011 — Kronos Incorporated today announced the August 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 August report includes data for July 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 3.6 percent in July 2011 from a revised 3.8 percent in June 2011, as an increase in hires was outpaced by an even larger gain in applications, 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 40,070 hires in July 2011, up from a revised 37,388 hires in June 2011, all on a seasonally adjusted basis.
- Retail Applications Level: The number of applications received by retailers in the Kronos sample rose to 1,103,164 in July 2011, from a revised 976,073 in June 2011, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. The increase in July reversed most of June’s sharp decline, with applications received in July roughly 4 percent higher than one year ago.
- Retail 60-Day Retention Rate: The 60-day retention rate, measured as the number of hires who remain employed for at least the first 60 days divided by the total number of hires made in that month, was essentially unchanged at 84.2 percent in March, approximately where it has been for the past two months, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. (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 customers have two months to return data on separations.)
Supporting Quotes
- Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers
"The Kronos Retail Labor Index edged down to 3.6 percent in July, but reflected a strong gain in hiring to a level that is the second-highest reading in more than three years. The uptick in hiring is encouraging, and hints at retailer confidence in a forthcoming pickup in retail sales following the late spring / early summer slowing. While the Kronos Retail Labor Index has strengthened from a low of 2.3 percent over the last year and a half, the improvement has been gradual, with readings still below pre-recession levels. Gradual improvement in the Index is in line with trends in national retail employment, which has also shown only modest gains over the last year or so, especially in light of the sharp declines experienced during the recession and early recovery period."
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