New data on the US retail industry finds that in July 2023, employers pulled back on hiring while application volumes increased for the second month in a row.
The iCIMS Workforce Report gives a monthly snapshot of the latest labour market activity and trends. The data is drawn from a proprietary database of employer and job seeker activity, which includes data points across job openings, applications and hires.
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By GlobalDataSince June 2022, there has been a 34% increase in retail job applications, a 14% decrease in job openings and a 27% decrease in hires.
This suggests that job seekers in the US retail industry could find themselves in a more competitive market compared to the last 18 months.
The lack of retail job openings can be attributed to decreased nationwide spending as retailers react to waning demands. There also continues to be a shift towards online shopping, which affects retailers’ recruitment practices for in-store roles.
A key question is what a decrease in hiring means for the upcoming holiday shopping season, which retailers typically begin to recruit for in the summer months.
The US population median age is on the rise at 35, but younger workers dominate applicant activity, with 32% of retail applicants being 18-24.
According to iCIMS, time to fill (TTF) for retail roles is a little more than five weeks in June 2023 (or 37 days). This is reportedly two days faster than the overall US labour market and the same as retail TTF in June 2022.
Although retail employers are starting to pull back on hiring, iCIMS states that now is the time for retailers to build talent pools and to keep them engaged with targeted, automated text campaigns for when roles open up.
What platforms are applicants using for retail jobs?
Rather than falling down any social media rabbit holes, retail applicants show a strong preference for Indeed above other popular job boards.
While Google’s popularity dropped since June 2022, ZipRecruiter’s grew from just 1% of applicants last June to 5% in June 2023.
Glassdoor falls at the bottom of the job search pile, dropping from 4% last June to 0% in June 2023.
A whopping 70% of applicants for retail roles used a mobile device, compared to a little more than half of overall applicants in June 2023.
This can be attributed to most retail workers being on the go, using their mobile devices to find jobs, submit applications and communicate with recruiters.
The percentage of retail job seekers who visit a job post and then complete an application was almost double that of the broader US labour market.
To capture those job seekers, iCIMS asserts that retail employers need mobile-friendly career sites and applications to make the process quick and easy.
A recent study found that despite the slowdown in hiring, strong workforce activity and tightness in the US labour market may prompt a wage surge for hourly and frontline employees, including those in retail.
