Special Stores Add Jobs in February

WASHINGTON — Specialty stores and discounters boosted payrolls in February, while department stores shed jobs and the overall monthly unemployment rate declined, the U.S. Department of Labor’s monthly employment report revealed Friday. Apparel and accessories stores added 7,600 seasonally adjusted jobs to employ 1.37 million in February, while general merchandise stores, a category that includes discounters and department stores, added 800 jobs to employ 3.14 million. Department stores cut 2,900 jobs to employ 1.33 million. Scott Hoyt, senior director of consumer economics at Moody’s Analytics, said the hiring trend at apparel and accessories stores has been weak for the past five months, but he noted that the increase in February could signal a shift. “For apparel and accessories stores, I think there has been sales growth that has improved over the last several months,” Hoyt said. “Perhaps that is an encouraging sign that the job gains we saw in the month might repeat. A sales pickup gives employers both the need and wherewithal to do some hiring, but it is too early to say that definitively.” Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the National Retail Federation, said, “Payrolls came in much stronger than expected, especially given the issues seen over the past several weeks with

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