Retail Hiring Slows for Second Consecutive Month
CHELMSFORD, Mass., Aug. 2, 2012 — 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 2012. The analysis and write-up are prepared by Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, and are 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 applications 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 one-tenth to 4.2 percent in July, reflecting declines in both hires and applications.
- Retail Hiring Level: The retailers representing 18,362 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronosdata sample made 29,835 hires (seasonally adjusted) in July 2012, the lowest reading since January 2011 and the second consecutive monthly decline.
- Retail Applications Level: The number of applications received by retailers included in the Kronos sample fell 7.6 percent to 715,549 in July 2012 from a level in June that was revised slightly lower, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. Applications have fallen in six of the last seven months. In addition, the level in July was nearly 230,000 below its level one year ago and the second lowest level since the series began in September 2006.
- 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, edged down from 81.4 percent in February 2012 to 81.0 percent in March 2012 (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 one-tenth to 4.2 percent in July, reflecting declines in both hires and applications. Following a strong start to the year, the recovery in hiring has slowed in recent months. A recent deceleration in overall consumer spending has likely encouraged more caution in hiring at retail establishments. Indeed, consumer spending grew at just a 1.5 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, down from 2.4 percent in the first quarter, according to Commerce Department estimates released last Friday. Until business conditions for retail firms begin strengthening again, which we expect later this year, we do not expect to see a marked pick-up in monthly hiring. In addition, we believe hiring has been restrained, in part, due to an elevated retention rate at retail firms in the Kronos sample, which indicates less job turnover and therefore reduced need for new hires."
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”.
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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, hires, 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 100 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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Contact
Laura Souza
Kronos Incorporated
+1 978.947.4777
laura.souza@kronos.com