Finance
Jobs report dragged by Toys R US bankruptcy
-
Toys R
Us might be the reason why the US economy added fewer jobs
than economists forecast in July. -
The jobs report released on Friday showed that no group
of companies saw bigger losses than retailers of sporting
goods, toys, books, and music. -
Toys R Us announced in January that it was closing all
its US stores, meaning that over 31,000 workers lost their
jobs.
Toys R Us appears to have taken a chunk out of the US economy’s
job gains in July.
The
jobs report, released on Friday, showed that employers added
157,000 nonfarm payrolls, fewer than economists had expected. And
the subsector that had the biggest loss was hobby, toy, and game
stores.
Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last
September, and announced in January that it was
closing all its stores. This also meant
mass layoffs of its 31,000 US employees, and explains why
retail recorded so many losses in July.
The gains in retail jobs “were offset by a decline of 32,000 in
sporting goods, hobby, book, and music stores, reflecting
job losses in hobby, toy, and game stores,” the Bureau of Labor
Statistics said.
Excluding this subsector, total retail payrolls increased
by 7,100 month-on-month, according to John Herrmann a rates
strategist at MUFG Securities.
In the liquidation filing, Toys R Us
blamed
its poor holiday performance
on
Walmart, Target, and Amazon pricing their toys so low that it
couldn’t compete and profit.
See also:
-
Business7 days ago
AI chip startup DEEPX secures $80M Series C at a $529M valuation
-
Entertainment5 days ago
Jinkx Monsoon promises ‘the queerest season of ‘Doctor Who’ you’ve ever seen!’
-
Business5 days ago
StrictlyVC London welcomes Phoenix Court and WEX
-
Business7 days ago
Retell AI lets businesses build ‘voice agents’ to answer phone calls
-
Entertainment5 days ago
How to watch every ‘Law and Order’ online in 2024
-
Entertainment5 days ago
BookTok and teens: What parents need to know
-
Business5 days ago
Why Apple’s ‘Crush’ ad is so misguided
-
Entertainment6 days ago
'House of the Dragon' recap: Every death, ranked by gruesomeness