Retail Hires Increase 25k+ Over 2017

The National Retail Federation (Washington, D.C.) has released its report on fall hiring, which shows that the retail industry has hired 25,600 more workers in September than it did compared to a year ago, according to U.S. Labor Department statistics.

This news comes despite a drop of 23,600 jobs from August, the organization said, which it largely blames on the outfall of Hurricane Florence. "I think we can safely ignore the decline from August because that was largely the result of the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, which affected both the retail sector and leisure/hospitality,” said NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz.

The trade group also says the retail industry has a record number of job openings: As of this July, 835,000 positions were unfilled. The Labor Department did not include the auto sector, fuel stations or restaurants in its report on retail sector hiring; and Kleinhenz pointed out that it also excludes corporate headquarter employees and those at distribution centers and innovation labs.