Retailers hired more employees last month and had fewer applicants compared to August, leading one retail labor analyst to express optimism about the industry.
The Kronos Retail Labor Index, which measures the number of applicants compared to the number of hires that retailers around the country make, edged up a half of a percentage point on a seasonally adjusted basis. It rose from 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent, meaning that for every 100 applicants, 3.9 hires were made.
The number of hires in the retail sector rose 12.6 percent last month, increasing from 33,974 to 38,252, Kronos said. That was also a 16 percent increase from the number of hires a year ago, and is the highest reading of retail hires in three years.
Meanwhile, the number of applicants fell compared to the month earlier, from more than 1 million applicants to 985,915, a 1.7 percent drop.
“The recent sharp uptick in hiring, coupled with a rise in monthly applications since earlier this year, suggests that retail labor market activity is picking up,” said Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers, which runs the study for Kronos.
The survey includes 18,362 retail locations in the United States.
