“The short-term and 12-month outlooks for retail, in particular, have been quite low for the past several months, which is not what we expect to see in the lead-up to the holiday shopping season.”
A net positive of +20%—down from the +22% of October, but higher than the +17% of November 2021—is the result of 38% of firms saying they are in excellent standing and 18% saying they are in terrible health.
While pay rise intentions increased to 3.4% and stayed above average historically, average price increase plans decreased to 3.9%, extending a downward trend that began in June.
In accordance with seasonal trends, full-time staffing plans are in net negative territory, with employers planning to lay off somewhat more employees (18%) than hire them (17%) during the coming few months.
According to the 3-month index, the retail industry’s optimism level was second-to-last (36.5) and third-to-last (120.0). (43.6).
