The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday December 2 that the retail trade sector hired 423,500 more workers in November effectively a return to pre-recession levels for those jobs. (Note that the data are not seasonally adjusted.)  Every year, retailers hire thousands of extra workers to help with the increase in traffic brought on by holiday shopping approximately from October through December.  [For an entertaining anecdote on seasonal employment, listen to David Sedaris’ talk on NPR about his years as a Macy’s elf.] The large November increase—about  90,000 more than the same time last year—restores holiday retail trade jobs to their pre-recession levels.   The National Retail Federation expects retailers to add a similar number of jobs this holiday season as in 2010.

Employment and employment growth in the retail trade sector is highest in the last quarter of the year, with the largest increase occurring in November.  The December 2nd report revised down the number of retail trade jobs gained in October from 141,500 (which was comparable to last year’s October gain) to 123,700. 

Online shopping continues to increase in popularity and employment in this sector appears to be growing to keep pace with this growth in sales.  BLS reports on the number of retail jobs at nonstore retailers, which includes electronic shopping and mail-order houses.  In 2010, nonstore retailers added 26,700 jobs in the fourth quarter, of which 21,500 were in electronic shopping and mail-order houses.  We don’t yet have figures for employment in electronic shopping for 2011, but we do know that overall hiring in the nonstore retailer category increased 32,400 in October and November, well above last year’s increase of 20,100, which suggests that online shopping job growth will also be up this year.  Along with the additional jobs in nonstore retail trade, more people are needed to deliver the holiday packages that are purchased online.  Last year, couriers and messengers, which include express delivery and postal service, gained 104,300 jobs in November and December, a 77 percent increase over the prior year (2009) with the preponderance of the jobs added in  December.   The November gain of 28,000 jobs reported by BLS is somewhat stronger than last year and points to a healthy holiday employment expansion this year in delivery services as well.  With the Administration’s continued commitment to putting Americans back to work and the American Jobs Act, the good news seen in holiday employment data may lead into solid, sustained employment gains for the U.S.

~Mark Doms, Chief Economist, U.S. Department of Commerce

December 15, 2011

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