RETAIL JOBS DOWN IN MARCH BUT UP FROM LAST YEAR

Retail Workers
by Stephen Garner Apr 09, 2018
Retail Workers
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Amid fluctuations in weather and spring holidays, retail industry employment fell by 6,400 jobs seasonally adjusted in March but showed an increase of 30,800 unadjusted year-over-year, the National Retail Federation said on Monday. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants. Overall, the economy added 103,000 jobs, the Labor Department said.

March’s numbers followed a monthly increase of 42,400 jobs in February over January. The three-month moving average in March showed an increase of 14,200 jobs. There were 711,000 job openings in the retail industry in January, the highest monthly figure ever.

Monthly gains were seen in non-store, which includes online and was up by 4,300 jobs from February; miscellaneous stores, up 4,100; furniture, up 2,000; building and garden supplies, up 1,900; and electronics and health/personal care, which were each up 1,700. Declines were concentrated in three sectors that had shown significant gains in February – general merchandise stores, down 12,600; clothing and clothing accessory stores, down 7,300; and grocery stores, down 3,200.

“March was weaker than February but the trend is in the right direction,” said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at NRF. “This time of year can be quirky given weather and the timing of Easter and Passover. We should be pleased with the broader picture because the economy is growing, creating substantial job gains at this time during the expansion. Even with this month’s dip, retail employment is still substantially higher than the beginning of the year and this time last year. Retail has not taken a step backward.”

Economy-wide, average hourly earnings in February increased by 8 cents – 2.7 percent – year-over-year. The Labor Department said the unemployment rate was 4.1 percent, unchanged for the sixth straight month.

Kleinhenz noted that retail job numbers reported by the Labor Department do not provide an accurate picture of the industry because they count only employees who work in stores while excluding retail workers in other parts of the business such as corporate headquarters, distribution centers, call centers and innovation labs.