Retail Tops Job Losses Report

The retail industry announced 11,669 job cuts in April, the highest total among all industries, bringing the year-to-date total to 50,133. That's up 36 percent from the 36,977 retail sector job cuts announced in the first four months of 2016. The retailers responsible for the most job cuts this year include Macy's (10,000), J.C. Penney (5,500), HHGregg (5,000), The Limited (4,000), American Apparel (3,457) and Wet Seal (3,000).

Total Retail's Take: In the event that you've had your head buried in the sand, it's been an incredibly challenging start to 2017 for traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Retail bankruptcy filings through the first four months of the year are on a record pace, with 14 chains announcing they will seek court protection. In addition to bankruptcy filings, store closures have become commonplace as traditional brick-and-mortar retailers struggle to adapt their businesses for increasingly digital consumers. The ugly consequence of these dynamics is that many people are losing their jobs. The hope is that the typical store-based jobs that are being lost (store associates, cashiers, store managers) are replaced with more warehouse jobs to meet the demands for increased online orders.