Retail jobs flag as sales boom

Retail sales on P.E.I. continue to remain strong, but that trend has not been reflected in an increased number of jobs.

Since March of 2015 retail sales on P.E.I. have been setting new records month after month, according to numbers from Statistics Canada. In the 19 months between March of last year and October, sales have grown 13.3 per cent.

Unfortunately for close to 9,000 unemployed Islanders, job growth in the retail sector has not followed suit. In fact, there were 700 fewer jobs in retail in November than there were in March of 2015, despite that double digit growth in sales.

P.E.I. biggest employer

Retail and wholesale is P.E.I.'s single largest employment sector more than the public service, more than health care, only slightly less than manufacturing and construction combined.

Retail and wholesale contribute about 14 per cent of the Island's jobs.

There are a couple of trends that could be contributing to the recent decline, said UPEI economist George Jia. One is the trend towards larger stores.

Retail is getting more concentrated. Retailers, especially the new ones, are getting larger and larger," he said.

"Just look at the new giant stores in Charlottetown that opened over the last two years, and Giant Tiger is coming too."

The larger stores replace smaller stores, and they don't hire as many people per dollar of sales.

Getting away from bricks and mortar

The other change is the increasing demand for online shopping.

Jim Cormier of the Retail Council of Canada said this change is not just about more customers buying things off-Island.

"If you're making more of your revenue from your online sales, then it ends up meaning, in some cases, that you have less of a need for in-store customer support," said Cormier.

Cormier said there is a more recent trend for retailers to improve the experience in their physical stores, and that has the potential to turn the trend around somewhat.

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