U.S. retailers added 46,800 workers in July, 2013, the most in eight months.
According to a U.S. Labor Dept. report, among the retailers that have driven the increase are Nordstrom Inc. (Seattle) and Saks Inc. (New York), which are expanding their outlet chains; Dollar General Corp. (Goodlettsville, Tenn.), which is enjoying a solid back-to-school surge; and Tractor Supply Co. (Brentwood, Tenn.), a retailer of home improvement, agriculture, lawn and garden maintenance, and livestock, equine and pet care products.
The labor report says general merchandise stores added 9100 jobs last month, and building-material and garden-supply stores added 5700.
Generally, says the report, consumers are becoming more comfortable spending money. “There’s some pent-up demand,” Bryan Gildenberg, chief knowledge officer at Kantar Retail in Boston, told Bloomberg News.
Among the retail brands cited are Under Armour Inc. (Baltimore) and Lululemon Athletica Inc. (Vancouver, B.C.).
“They’ve been expanding their physical footprint because they’ve been able to create national brands,” Gildenberg said. “They’ve done a nice job of building really strong brands and layering retail on top of it.”
Lululemon opened 38 stores in North America, Australia and New Zealand in the quarter ended May 5, 2013.
“The pattern of growth for retail has been positive, and it reflects that the consumer has a positive view of the world,” Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation, told Bloomberg.