by Kristi Ellis
Posted Friday May 6, 2011
From WWD.COM
Retailers posted strong payroll gains in April for the second consecutive month, as the overall unemployment rate edged up slightly, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Clothing and accessories stores added 6,100 jobs to employ 1.42 million last month, while department stores boosted payrolls by 9,400 to 1.49 million in April.
General merchandise stores, a category that includes department stores and discounters, added 27,400 jobs to employ 2.98 million.
The overall employment rate edged up to 9 percent in April from 8.8 percent in March, due in part to an increase in the number of unemployed people entering the market in search of jobs. Businesses collectively added a total of 244,000 jobs to payrolls, marking three solid months of job growth in a row and signalling confidence in the economy.
Further down the supply chain, mills making apparel fabric added 600 jobs to employ 121,300 in April. Payrolls at textile product mills, which make mostly home furnishings and industrial fabrics, fell 300 to 116,200. Apparel employment fell 100 last month to 155,800.
