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Retail Employment Rises Going into the Holiday Season

By Lainey Stalnaker, Data Analytics Writer

xmas tree lot employee

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes monthly employment data for each industry. We can see, as the winter holidays move into full swing, so too does hiring in the retail trade sector. Typically, we examine seasonally adjusted data in order to gauge long-term trends in employment which are independent of seasonal changes, but we can also glean insights from data that are not seasonally adjusted, since they reveal the magnitude of hiring.[1]

One major pattern we observe every year is an uptick in employment in the retail trade sector during the holidays. Starting in October, South Carolina’s employment in this sector typically shifts up dramatically and peaks in December. In 2024, for example, employment jumped from 267,300 in October to 276,300 in December, an increase of 9,000 jobs over just two months. Since 2015, the state’s retail trade employment has increased a minimum of 2.0 percent up to as much as 3.4 percent from October to December. The figure below shows changes in the state’s retail trade employment since January 2015.

Figure 1. Retail Trade Employment in South Carolina, 2015 - 2025, Not Seasonally Adjusted (in thousands)

Although total employment in the retail sector typically increases at the end of the year, the net change and its intensity vary by subsector. When examining employment changes in selected retail trade subsectors, we observe the fastest growth in the category Clothing, Clothing Accessories, Shoes, and Jewelry Retailers. In 2024, the state’s employment in this subsector increased 7.8 percent from October to December. General Merchandise Retailers also recorded rapid employment gains during this period. Other subsectors such as Health and Personal Care Retailers and Food and Beverage Retailers recorded more modest increases. Figure 2, below, shows the percent change in employment in five retail trade subsectors between October and December in the last three years. 

Figure 2. Two Month Change in Employment by Selected Retail Trade Subsector, South Carolina, December 2022 - 2024

By employment, retail trade is one of the largest sectors in South Carolina, providing jobs for residents across the state. As a result, fluctuations within this sector can have a significant impact on the labor market. If recent trends hold, we can expect retail trade employment to continue growing as the holiday season proceeds.

[1] Data referenced in this article are sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Current Employment Statistics (CES) program.