The U.S. retail trade sector lost 28,000 jobs in November, after showing little net employment change over the prior 12 months, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Within the category, the biggest decline was at general merchandise retailers (-15,000), while electronics/appliance retailers experienced the biggest growth, adding 4000 positions.
Overall, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in November, and the unemployment rate changed little at 4.2 percent. Employment trended up in health care, leisure and hospitality, government and social assistance. In addition, both the unemployment rate, at 4.2 percent, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.1 million, changed little in November.
Causes for the drop in retail employment were difficult to pinpoint. Some analysts said the lower number might reflect retailers holding off hiring due to Thanksgiving falling so late on the calendar this year, while others speculated that the lack of added jobs in stores reflected the ongoing growth of online shopping, whose job gains may be tallied in the transportation and warehousing categories.
Click here for more from the report. (See page 29 of the report for job tallies in all the retail submarkets tracked by the labor statistics department.)
