Retail Snapshot

Retail hiring last winter was subdued – the industry lost 6,300 jobs in the fourth quarter. Heading into the new year, this less-than-stellar performance was reversed as retail picked up a solid 45,000 net new jobs in the first quarter. After a long road to recover the jobs lost due to the pandemic, retail hiring is now inching its way back to its previous historical high of 15.83 million workers in January of 2017. What’s driving this growth? Robust consumer spending. In the first quarter, retail sales increased 1.6% from the year prior as people continued to buy new shirts, shoes, and pants.

Within the retail subsectors, general merchandise stores had the lion’s share of job growth, adding 38,400 new jobs last quarter. Food and beverage stores added a smaller but positive 11,300 new jobs for the quarter. Furniture and personal care stores have been on a downward trend, both sectors lost 4,400 and 3,100 jobs respectively over the first quarter.