CHELMSFORD, Mass. (December 07, 2009) – Kronos® Incorporated today announced the December release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index(TM), a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, and provide a distinct and early indicator of the overall state of the economy. The December release includes data for November 2009. The report is available on the Kronos Retail Labor Index website.
News Facts

* The Kronos Retail Labor Index: (This metric is defined as the percentage of job applications that result in a hiring, normalized within a scale of 0 to 100. A level of 3.00 percent means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred). The Kronos Retail Labor Index increased to 3.87 percent this month, its highest level in 2009.
* Retail Hiring Level: The 68 retailers representing 27,034 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos data sample recorded 49,412 hirings in November 2009; an 8.49 percent increase over October. This followed a 13.31 percent increase from September to October. November’s seasonally adjusted figure represents the highest level of hiring so far in 2009.
* Retail Applications Level: The supply of applications decreased in November for the first time in 2009 to a seasonally adjusted level of 1,266,902 down from 1,583,990 in October.
* Retail Employee Retention Rate: Continuing the trend of increased employee retention, the 60-day retention rate for November 2009 was 3.87 percent higher than it was in November 2008.
* Holiday Hiring: While the level of applications received by retailers in November has increased each year since 2006, the cumulative number of hirings made in each of those years has decreased and is currently at its lowest point since 2006, indicating that retailers are expecting a slow holiday sales season.

Supporting Quotes

* Dr. Robert Yerex, Ph.D., chief economist, Kronos
“The Kronos Retail Labor Index reached its highest level for the year this month, a positive sign for retailers and for those seeking retail employment. While the short-term news is good, the longer- term view is more troubling. Since 2006, the level of applications received by retailers from September through November each year has increased, but the cumulative number of hirings made over the same period has decreased. This indicates that retailers are expecting the 2009 winter holiday retail season to be weaker than each of the previous three years, and in response, delayed their surge in holiday season hiring by two weeks as compared with previous years.”

Source: Kronos