Retail store job cuts deepen as more buyers migrate online

NEW YORK (AP) — Retail stores are cutting jobs at the sharpest pace in more than seven years, evidence of a seemingly inexorable shift away from employee-heavy stores as Americans increasingly shop online.

A combined 60,600 retail job losses over the past two months have had less to do with the health of U.S. consumer spending than with changes in buying habits.

In the age of Amazon, traditional stores, from J.C. Penney to Macy's, have accelerated store closures and are experimenting with the use of fewer employees to staff the remaining stores.

Retail accounts for nearly one-third of first-time jobs in the United States, so a retrenchment by the industry's employers can block access to the job market for many.

The retail industry losses for February and March were contained in Friday's U.S. jobs report from the government.

Hiring in the United States dropped to its weakest pace in nearly a year, but the unemployment rate managed to reach its lowest level in nearly a decade.

Retailers involved in high-priced big ticket items such as furniture stores and auto dealers barely added jobs.

Amazon's Prime membership program, costing $99 a year, has been a juggernaut, with services like streaming music and video that have created fierce loyalty.

Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a research firm, says he expects earnings for the first quarter for the 113 retailers he tracks to drop 6.8 percent.