Grocery retail job growth picks up in February

Grocery retail saw increased hiring for February as retail sector job growth jumped from the previous month, despite an uptick in the national unemployment rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Food and beverage retailers gained 4,500 jobs in February, more than doubling the 1,800 jobs added in January, BLS reported in preliminary estimates on Friday. Total job count for that retail segment came in at 3.249 million (seasonally adjusted) in February, up over 0.1% from nearly 3.245 million for January.

On an annual basis in February, the grocery retail sector added 79,900 jobs, an increase of 2.5%, compared with a 2.3% year-over-year uptick, or 74,000 jobs, in January. The gain marked the fourth straight month of yearly job growth for grocery after employment losses in October.

Warehouse clubs, supercenters and other general merchandise retailers tallied higher job growth in February, adding about 24,500 jobs, up 1.1% from January, according to BLS data. That continued a rebound in January, when the segment added approximately 11,100 jobs for a monthly increase of 0.5% following job losses in both December and November. Still, the February job total represented a year-over-year decrease of 3.2%, with roughly 71,200 fewer jobs in the retail segment than in February 2022.

Overall, the general merchandise retail category—including department stores—added 39,200 jobs in February, a 1.3% increase from January yet down 3.8% annually, representing a loss of 122,400 jobs in the sector, BLS data showed. Department stores added 14,600 jobs for February, up 1.6% month to month, but the segment lost roughly 51,300 jobs, a 5.2% decline, year over year.

Also in the food, drug and mass retail channel, health and personal care stores—including drug stores—gained 1,800 jobs in February, up almost 0.2% month to month but down 0.1% from a year earlier, marking a loss of 1,100 jobs on an annual basis.

In total, the retail trade category added 50,100 jobs in February, up 0.3% to 15.562 million, yet lost 2,300 jobs since February 2022, a 0.01% decrease.

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up to 3.6% for February following dips to 3.4% in January and 3.5% in December from 3.7% in both November and October, BLS reported. Total nonfarm payroll employment grew by about 311,000 in February, compared with increases of 517,000 jobs in January, 260,000 in December and 290,000 in November. Year over year, the nation added approximately 4.34 million jobs, an increase of 2.9%.

“Both the unemployment rate, at 3.6%, and the number of unemployed persons, at 5.9 million, edged up in February. These measures have shown little net movement since early 2022,” BLS stated in its February 2023 report.

The addition of 311,000 jobs in February was slightly below the average monthly increase of 343,000 jobs during the previous six months, BLS reported. The agency added that notable job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality, retail, government and health care, while employment fell in information and in transportation and warehousing.

“Employment in retail trade rose by 50,000 in February, reflecting a gain in general merchandise retailers ( 39,000),” BLS said in its report. “Retail trade employment is little changed on net over the year.”