2026 Q3 US Retail Labor Market Update

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6 hours ago

A table titled “Retail job postings slightly outperform the labor market” with three columns: occupational category, percent change in the past year, and percent change from February 1, 2020. All postings are up 3.1% over the past year and 3.7% since February 2020. Retail is up 5.1% over the past year but down 10.4% since February 2020. Food Preparation & Service is down 3.2% and 4.2%, and Hospitality & Tourism is down 4.7% and 15.1%.

The retail vertical split in the third quarter of 2026 as postings in the retail category rose slightly, while the vertical’s other categories declined. Wage growth in retail categories settled near the labor market average, while seasonal hiring got off to a strong start in September.

Indeed Job Postings

Overall US job postings on Indeed remain

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