Feature | Retail jobs a bright spot in Minnesota employment numbers
Minnesota Retailer Jobs Up 2,300 In November
by John Welbes, Pioneer Press, excerpted
Minnesota's employment picture brightened in November, with 10,800 new jobs and an upward revision to October's job-loss figures that show continued improvement in the state's recovery from the lows of the recession. The state's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent from October's 5.9 percent, with some of the biggest job gains coming in the retail sector.
The growth in retail was about 2,300 jobs better than expected, marking the best November performance that sector has seen in 10 years, said Steve Hine, the state's director of labor market research.
The retail job gains are a departure from recent years during the recession, when retailers were reluctant to add large numbers of workers during the holidays.
Minnesota's unadjusted gain in retail jobs was 9,300 for November, and the seasonally adjusted gain was 2,300 -- suggesting that 7,000 is the typical gain in holiday hiring, and the 2,300 reflects the strength of the current season.
Retailers are still trying to build back up to employment levels that they had several years before the recession, said Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association. For holiday hiring decisions, retailers "have to kind of crystal ball it a little bit," Nustad said, with hires based on indicators such as consumer confidence and holiday sales projections.
In an informal poll of its members that the association did after the Black Friday weekend, 45 percent had more sales than expected, 33 percent had sales that met expectations, and 11 percent reported lower-than-expected sales.
At that time, looking toward the holiday shopping season, 56 percent of the association's members said they anticipated sales levels similar to last year, and 33 percent thought they'd be better than last year's, Nustad said.
Read the full Pioneer Press article here.
The growth in retail was about 2,300 jobs better than expected, marking the best November performance that sector has seen in 10 years, said Steve Hine, the state's director of labor market research.
The retail job gains are a departure from recent years during the recession, when retailers were reluctant to add large numbers of workers during the holidays.
Minnesota's unadjusted gain in retail jobs was 9,300 for November, and the seasonally adjusted gain was 2,300 -- suggesting that 7,000 is the typical gain in holiday hiring, and the 2,300 reflects the strength of the current season.
Retailers are still trying to build back up to employment levels that they had several years before the recession, said Bruce Nustad, president of the Minnesota Retailers Association. For holiday hiring decisions, retailers "have to kind of crystal ball it a little bit," Nustad said, with hires based on indicators such as consumer confidence and holiday sales projections.
In an informal poll of its members that the association did after the Black Friday weekend, 45 percent had more sales than expected, 33 percent had sales that met expectations, and 11 percent reported lower-than-expected sales.
At that time, looking toward the holiday shopping season, 56 percent of the association's members said they anticipated sales levels similar to last year, and 33 percent thought they'd be better than last year's, Nustad said.
Read the full Pioneer Press article here.
