U.S. retail jobs up by 11,100 driven by clothing and accessories trade

By

Arati Menon

Published
Feb 5, 2018

U.S. Retail has had a fair hiring season this January, adding 11,100 jobs, according to a report from the National Retail Federation (NRF). While this figure only partially offsets employment losses of 24,600 in December, the three-month moving average in January shows an increase of 3,200 jobs.

Retail is, in fact, the country’s largest private-sector employer, supporting over 42 million workers, and contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP.
 
“These numbers reflect the strong holiday season and how retailers matched consumer demand for consumption by hiring additional staff,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a press release late last week. 

Within retail it was predominantly the clothing and clothing accessories categories that drove employment up, up by 15,100 jobs. Mr. Kleinhenz alluded to the carry-over of extra staffing from the holiday season.
 
The biggest losses of 6,300 and 6,200 in January came from sporting goods stores and general merchandise stores respectively.
 
U.S. economy-wide employment figures have shown better-than-expected gain in January. After a lull in December, companies hired 200,000 more workers at the start of the new year, according to a report published by the U.S. Labor Department. This compared to 148,000 in the prior month.
 
Other signs point to a strengthening labor market. The U.S. jobless rate stands at a 17-year low of 4.1 percent. Wage growth is also accelerating. The employment cost index shows that in the 12 months ended in December, compensation costs, of which wages and salaries make up about 70 percent, climbed 2.6 percent — the biggest increase since early 2015.