CHELMSFORD, Mass. — An index of job hiring from software provider Kronos here indicated that retailers increased their hiring in March by 30.2% over February.

The Kronos Retail Labor Index, based on employees working at retail companies that use Kronos hiring systems (approximately 15% of the U.S. consumer retail labor market), increased to 4.17% in March from 3.26% the month before. The index measures the percentage of job applications that result in a hiring.

"The Kronos Retail Labor Index is up this month significantly from last month, good news for employees looking for a job in retail,” said Robert Yerex, chief economist, Kronos. “In the next 18 to 24 months, we expect to see retail sales and hiring increase, though not to the levels they were at in 2008. We expect that a full 20% of the jobs lost in the recession are not likely to return."

Employee retention also increased, according to Kronos; employees were 6.01% more likely to have a length of service of 60 days or more in March 2010 as compared with a year ago.

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