Retail jobs in stores decline in November 

The retail industry did not experience its traditional holiday boost in in-store hiring this year. 

Retailers gave up a seasonally adjusted 34,700 store jobs in November, compared with October, according to a report by WWD, which cited the latest monthly employment figures from the the Labor Department. Department stores gave up 13,800 positions to employ one million while apparel and accessories specialty stores cut 2,400 jobs to employ 967,600, the report said.

The Labor Department said the retail declines reflected “ less seasonal hiring” and also said that “employment in retail trade is 550,000 lower than in February,” which was before the pandemic struck. 

While in-store hiring declined, many retailers have been adding more workers in to keep up with rising online demand.