Retailers- Greedy or Needy?

When you walk into many retail stores, it is next to impossible to find anyone to offer you assistance. Those employees you do see have that ‘deer in the headlights’ look because they are frantically attempting to do the jobs that once required two or three employees to complete. It is hard to understand why retailers appear understaffed, considering the Labor Department says the unemployment rate dropped again last month. That's refreshing news for our economy, especially after viewing the unemployment growth the past few years on the map below.



We should keep in mind their numbers reflect the amount of people requesting unemployment benefits. The actual percentage of unemployed Americans is much higher than the 8.9% cited by the Labor Department.

Increased hiring was seen in manufacturing, construction, transportation and government agencies. That was certainly related to an increase in spending, as retailers reported increased sales in the wake of the best holiday shopping season since 2006.

While the decreasing unemployment rate is positive, economists suggest retailers that cut their payrolls during the past few years need to begin hiring again in order for our country to continue climbing out of this economic mess. However, as MarketWatch recently reported, retailers appear to be lagging behind other industries in hiring. That is not unusual this time of year because typically when the holiday season ends, business slows. However, retailers reported revenue gains for February.

Why aren't they increasing payroll hours? Is it greed or caution? One valid argument often heard is the government is imposing too many taxes and regulations on businesses. However, retailers need a strong economy to flourish, and that isn’t going to reach maximum potential until they loosen the purse strings on their payrolls. What a great public relations opportunity for a bold major retailer to be the first to step up and proclaim, “we are leading the way in hiring, creating more jobs because it will help the American economy, although it may cut into our profits initially it is the patriotic thing to do.”

In the retail business world, can patriotism trump greed?