In the coronavirus economy, word of an uptick in retail jobs hits like an anonymous benefactor volunteering to pay off my student loans.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, retailers showed signs of a recovery in June after the spring’s devastating job losses.
- Overall, retail job postings nearly doubled, rising to 740,000 in June from 372,000 in May.
- Apparel retailers reported the biggest gain, with 202,000 jobs added.
Reality check: Retail lost 2.4 million jobs in March and April. So even with a relatively chipper June jobs report, the retail industry still has 1.3 million fewer jobs now than it did in February.
It gets more complicated
By the time June job figures landed in your inbox, they were as current as a Joe Exotic reference.
Already, some retailers have shared layoffs that weren’t factored into the latest report:
- Nordstrom reportedly eliminated around 6,000 positions in June, with more rumored to follow.
- Fossil is reducing its corporate headcount by 10% in the near future.
- Macy’s said it would lay off roughly 25% of its corporate workforce last week.
- Belk is cutting an undisclosed number of jobs.
It's not over. As coronavirus cases swell throughout the U.S. South and West, some retailers and restaurants are closing their doors again. And just like in March, any time that brands spend with their doors shut is money lost—restarting the cost-cutting loop that results in further store and corporate job losses.
Zoom out: This employment tennis match is replaying across the Atlantic. Just after U.K. stores received the thumbs-up to reopen, retailers including Harrods, Topshop-owner Arcadia, and John Lewis announced sweeping staff cuts to offset losses from store closures.
My takeaway: With another round of temporary closures looming, retailers are caught between a rock and a headcount reducing place. All signs suggest they’ll overwhelmingly choose the latter in order to outrun the bankruptcy wave we anticipated this spring.
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