Fewer Hawaii stores hired for holidays
Written on January 21, 2010
Fewer people were hired to work in Hawaii stores at the start of the holiday season, but the people who worked put in more hours.
Retail employment in Hawaii fell about 5.5 percent in November 2009 to 65,400, down from 69,200 in November 2008, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
It was the lowest level of local retail employment since 2003. Anecdotally, local retailers have said the holiday shopping season was flat or somewhat worse than in 2008, when sales were already down because of the onset of the recession.
Clothing and specialty shops had about 1,000 fewer people working in them, according to the BLS data.
The numbers suggest that businesses spread their staffs thinner with employees putting in 31.3 hours per week, up from 29.9 the previous November.
But those extra hours paid off: Retail workers made an average $447.28 a week, up from $418.90 the previous year.
Filed in: legal.