Kronos Retail Labor Index Shows Fewer People Applying for Jobs in Retail

CHELMSFORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Kronos Incorporated today announced the July 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 July report includes data for June 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 increased to 3.7 percent in June 2011 from a revised 3.2 percent in May, as a sharp decline in applications outpaced a moderate decrease in hiring, 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 33,447 hires (seasonally adjusted) in June 2011, down from a revised 36,710 hires in May.
• Retail Applications Level: The number of applications received by retailers in the Kronos sample fell sharply in June 2011, to just 900,164 from a revised 1,149,879 in May, all on a seasonally adjusted basis. This was the lowest number of applications received since November 2007 and nearly 17 percent below its level one year ago.
• Retail 60-Day Retention Rate: The 60-day retention rate fell to 83.8 percent in February from 84.4 percent in January, 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 clients have two months to return data on hires and separations.)

Supporting Quotes

• Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers
  “The Kronos Retail Labor Index rose half a percentage point in June to 3.7 percent, a level just slightly above the average of roughly 3.5 percent over the last year. This level is characteristic of a relatively favorable hiring environment for hiring managers, with about 30 fresh applicants for each hire. While hiring did decline in June, it remains well above levels seen near the end of the recession and during the early recovery period. However, the recovery in hiring has slowed in recent months, with firms hiring just 6 percent more workers in June than they did this time last year. This is reflective of the deceleration in total payrolls seen nationally the past few months, as well as the recent slowing in the growth of retail sales. We look for these trends to reverse, with both payrolls and retail sales expected to accelerate over the second half of this year.”

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.

© 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.