Retailers Adding Workers Makes U.S. March Decline a Blip

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Applicants weren’t deterred by the heavy rain that fell in San Francisco when local Jamba Inc. (JMBA) outlets opened their doors for the smoothie chain’s first nationwide summer job fair on March 27.

“There were many stores that were packed,” said Kathy Wright, Jamba’s vice president of human resources, who made the Bay Area rounds that day. “We were interviewing under tents out in the rain. Even with the bad weather we had great people.” The Emeryville, California-based retailer is opening new stores and looking to fill 2,500 positions across the country.

An employee with handbags inside of a Guess? Inc. retail store in New York. Photographer: Scott Eells/Bloomberg

Other merchants, including specialty retailer Mattress Firm Holding Corp. (MFRM), also plan to add jobs this year. The Houston-based company says it’s looking for 200 workers to beef up its sales and corporate staffs as it expands. The response of such companies is easing concerns about an April 6 U.S. jobs report that showed retail employment declined by about 34,000 in March from the previous month.

As shoppers spent money on goods ranging from electronics to clothing and furniture, retail sales rose last month by 0.8 percent, the Commerce Department reported yesterday. The increase was almost three times higher than forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. Receipts at chain storesclimbed 4.1 percent from a year earlier, the International Council of Shopping Centers reported.

Retailers have been adding about 35,000 employees a month, on average, for the past six months. Photographer: Paul Taggart/Bloomberg