Sluggish retail sales in November didn't stop retailers from adding bodies. A report by outplacement consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, reavealed to BloggingStocks, shows that retail sector payrolls grew to 321,300 in November, an improvement from the previous month's 233,700. This follows 54,200 retail hires in October, bringing the total number of seasonal retail employees up to 375,500. Already, that comes close to the 384,300 hired from October through December in 2008. The analysis is based on data supplied by the Department of Labor.
High expectations for the holiday season likely contributed to the up-tick in hiring. The estimated 0.5% growth from Black Friday 2008 to Black Friday 2009 was a disappointment, and November sales were off 0.3%, surprising analysts, who expected the trend to go in the other direction. Costco (COST) and Limited Brands (LTD) came out ahead, but most retailers, including Target (TGT) and Macy's (M) struggled. Saks (SKS) is also suffering from an anemic luxury goods market.
While hiring is up from 2008, which was crippled by the immediacy of the global financial crisis, 2009 still lags the 714,000 seasonal job average from 1999 to 2007. "Even in 2001, in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the retail sector added more than 585,000 extra workers in the final three months of the year," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
"Holiday hiring is definitely stronger than a year ago," he continues, "but it remains clear that retailers are still reluctant to hire."
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