Retailers Open, Remodel Stores Coast to Coast - Update
A look at new store openings and remodelings in August 2010 shows retailers targeting states across the country with no clear focus on the local employment situation. This changes course from June and July 2010, when retailers targeted the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S., where unemployment rates have been equal to or better than the national average in recent months.
Midwestern supermarket retailer HyVee
purchased three stores from local grocery chain Sunshine Foods. Two are in Sioux City, IA and one is in Windown, MN. Both states have unemployment rates well below the national average.
And specialty pet supply retailer PetSmart is opening its first two
Manhattan stores later this year. One store opened in August 2010 and one will open in November 2010. New York’s state unemployment rate is slightly better than the national average.
In another Midwestern move, supermarket retailer Giant Eagle started planning
remodeling projects at some of its stores in the Akron and Canton, Ohio, area. Ohio’s state unemployment rate is on par with the national average. The newly remodeled stores will include an expanded produce section, with enhanced organic offerings; a new cafe with a cold and hot food bar, and more grab-and-go selections; an expanded deli with a dedicated cheese shop; an expanded meat and seafood department; larger frozen and dairy sections; and a new drive-through pharmacy.
Small-format grocery chain Fresh & Easy will open stores in the
Northern California cities of San Francisco, San Jose, Danville, Pacifica, Vacaville, Modesto, Walnut Creek, and Concord, despite California’s extremely high state unemployment rate.
State Unemployment Rates Change Little
US Unemployment by State
State unemployment rates
were generally unchanged in August 2010, the second month of flat performance after two straight months of general improvement. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 27 states registered over-the-month increases, 13 states reported over-the-month decreases, and 10 states and the District of Columbia had no significant rate change.
The official U.S. unemployment rate
stayed virtually flat at 9.6% during the month.
The U.S. economy shed 54,000 non-farm payroll jobs in August as federal government employment fell with 114,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completing their work. Temporary census jobs which boosted total employment earlier in the year have been ending for the past three months. Private-sector payroll employment crept up by 67,000, however, building on a modest growth trend starting with 71,000 private sector jobs added in July.
Furthermore, the U.S. economy shed 131,000 non-farm payroll jobs in July as federal government employment fell with 143,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completing their work. Private-sector payroll employment edged up by 71,000, however.
Prior to July, the U.S. economy shed 125,000 non-farm payroll jobs in June 2010, but added 431,000 non-farm payroll jobs in May 2010. This marked a significant improvement from 290,000 non-farm payroll jobs added in April 2010, as well as 162,000 non-farm payroll jobs added in March 2010. In addition, 36,000 non-farm payroll jobs were lost in February 2010 and 20,000 lost in January 2010.
Nevada Has Highest Unemployment Again
For the fourth straight month, Nevada reported the highest unemployment rate among the states, 14.4%, in August 2010. The rate in Nevada also set a new series high. The states with the next-highest rates were Michigan, 13.1%; and California, 12.4%. May 2010 marked the the first time since April 2006 a state other than Michigan reported the highest monthly unemployment rate.
On the positive side of the state unemployment picture for August 2010, North Dakota continued to register the lowest jobless rate (3.7%), followed by South Dakota (4.5%) and Nebraska (4.6%).
In total, 25 states posted jobless rates significantly lower than the national figure of 9.6%, seven states had measurably higher rates, and 18 states and the District of Columbia had rates that were not appreciably different from that of the nation.
Montana and Florida recorded the only significant rate increases from August 2009 (one and 0.7 percentage points, respectively). Eight states reported significant over-the-year rate decreases in July, the largest of which was in Alabama (1.4 percentage points). The remaining 40 states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rates that were not appreciably different from those of a year earlier.
NC Gains Most Monthly Jobs
Between July and August 2010, 13 states and the District of Columbia recorded statistically significant changes in employment. The over-the-month statistically significant job gains occurred in North Carolina (+18,600). The largest over-the-month statistically significant job losses occurred in Michigan (-50,300), Texas (-34,200), and California (-33,600).
Texas Gains Most Annual Jobs Again
During the year, seven states reported statistically significant employment increases, while two states experienced statistically significant declines in employment. The largest statistically significant over-the-year employment increases were posted in Texas (+129,100), which led all states for the third straight month, as well as Massachusetts (+48,500), and Indiana (+40,000).
One state recorded a statistically significant over-the-year increase in employment that was less than 15,000: New Hampshire (+10,500). The two statistically significant job losses occurred in California (-112,800) and Colorado (-28,100).
