The 2012 holiday season was a certainly joyful one for retail workers. Despite continuing economic fears, as well as Superstorm Sandy and the presidential election, hiring soared to the highest level in six years, the Associated Press reports.
Retailers added 728,300 jobs between October 1 and December 31. This was 10.3 percent higher than the same period last year. It was the strongest hiring increase since 2006, when retail employment increased by 746,900.
Most holiday employment took place in October and November, when 149,600 and 490,400 jobs were added, respectively.
According to Chicago-based retail experts Challenger, Gray & Christmas, businesses added only 660,200 workers for the same period in 2011.
For retailers, the holiday season has always been the most important time of year. It makes up nearly 40 percent of the year’s revenue. Although sales were weak in December, the Black Friday after-Thanksgiving events pushed retail sales to an overall increase of 3.1 percent. These numbers are from the International Council of Shopping Centers, who studied 20 retailers; including Target Corp. and Macy’s Inc. for stores open at least a year.
More information can be found at NBCnews.com…
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