[December 06, 2012]

Kronos Retail Labor Index Shows Retail Hiring Continuing to Improve

Kronos Incorporated today announced the December release of the Kronos^® Retail Labor Index™, a family of metrics and indices that characterize the current state of the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector. The December report includes data for November 2012. The analysis and write-up are prepared by Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, and are available on the Kronos Retail Labor Index website.

News Facts

• The Kronos (News - Alert) Retail Labor Index: (This index is defined as the ratio of hires to applications within a given month, expressed as a percentage. A level of 3.0 percent means that for every 100 applications received, three hires occurred). The Kronos Retail Labor Index rose four tenths in November 2012 to 5.4 percent, the highest reading since May 2008.
• Retail Hiring Level: The retailers representing 18,837 distributed locations across the U.S. that make up the Kronos data sample made 37,090 hires (seasonally adjusted) in November 2012 up 1.8 percent from a level in October that was revised higher. The number of hires in November was the second highest since October 2008 and 1,663 (+4.7 percent) above its level one year ago.
• Retail Applications Level: The number of applications received by retailers included in the Kronos sample fell 5.6 percent to 692,281 in November 2012 from a downwardly revised 733,387 in October 2012. Applications have declined sharply from highs reached last year, and the level in November was nearly 250,000 below its level one year ago. More plentiful employment opportunities in other sectors are likely contributing to the recent fall in applications.
• Retail 60-Day Retention Rate: The 60-day retention rate, measured as the number of hires who remain employed for at least the first 60 days divided by the total number of hires made in that month, edged down to 80.6 percent in July 2012 from 81.1 percet in June 2012 (all on a seasonally adjusted basis). (Note: There is a four-month lag on this indicator as two months are required to measure whether a hire remained employed for 60 days and Kronos customers have two months to return data on separations.)

• Chris Varvares, senior managing director and co-founder, Macroeconomic Advisers
  "The Kronos Retail Labor Index rose four-tenths to 5.4 percent in November, the highest reading in four and a half years, reflecting a sharp, 5.6 percent decline in applications and a 1.8 percent gain in hires. While modest, the increase in hires follows a strong, upwardly revised reading for October, perhaps a sign that retail hiring is turning a corner after several months of soft readings. Even with the solid reading, October hires appear to have been held down somewhat by the effects of Hurricane Sandy with no reversal appearing in November. We expect some reversal in December as the hiring process returns to normal. Applications were also significantly affected by the storm, with a large decline at the end of October appearing to have been reversed in early to mid-November."

Supporting Resources

• Organizations that use Kronos hiring solutions employ approximately 15 percent of the U.S. consumer retail labor market, providing Kronos with a unique set of data on employee job applications, hires, and length of service.
• The Kronos Retail Labor Index is released on a monthly basis. Go to www.kronos.com/retail-labor-index to access: the full report; a schedule of upcoming Retail Labor Index release dates; the Retail Labor Index methodology; and downloadable graphics.
• Note to reporters: cite findings as "Kronos Retail Labor Index".
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About the Kronos Retail Labor Index

The Kronos Retail Labor Index is a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and the supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector. It is derived from a single, unified data set, allowing for statistically appropriate comparisons and time series-based trending analysis. Firms that use Kronos hiring solutions employ approximately 15 percent of the U.S. consumer retail labor market, providing Kronos with a unique set of data on employee job applications, hires, and length of service. The Kronos Retail Labor Index provides a distinct and early indicator of the health of the retail sector.

About Kronos Incorporated

Kronos is the global leader in delivering workforce management solutions in the cloud. Tens of thousands of organizations in more than 100 countries - including more than half of the Fortune 1000^® - use Kronos to control labor costs, minimize compliance risk, and improve workforce productivity. Learn more about Kronos industry-specific time and attendance, scheduling, absence management, HR and payroll, hiring, and labor analytics applications at www.kronos.com. Kronos: Workforce Innovation That Works^™.

© 2012 Kronos Incorporated. All rights reserved. Kronos is a registered trademark and Kronos Retail Labor Index is a trademark of Kronos Incorporated or a related company. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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