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Boston retail jobs fall

Posted on August 6, 2012

The number of Boston retail jobs has decreased, according to recent data. In fact, retail hiring across the country has abated.

Kronos Incorporated has released Kronos(R 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 Retail Labor Index edged down one-tenth to 4.2 percent in July, reflecting declines in both hires and applications.

Employers in the Index made made 29,835 hires in July 2012, the lowest reading since January 2011 and the second consecutive monthly decline.

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.

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.

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.

Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers, said “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.”

The Kronos Retail Labor Index is released on a monthly basis.