NPR

As Store Layoffs Mount, Retail Lags Other Sectors In Retraining Workers

Many retail workers are losing their jobs amid major technological shifts. And while some industries invest to retrain their workers with new skills, retail largely hasn't succeeded in doing that.
Retraining generally isn't a top priority in the retail sector, analysts say. But Wal-Mart trains about a quarter-million of its employees a year in more advanced skills. / Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Harry Friedman has run a consultancy training entry-level retail workers in customer service and other basics for 35 years. But in all his years, he has not retrained retail workers for new skills.

"Nope; we do none of it," he says. "I don't know that anybody does any of it."

Many retail workers are undergoing what economists call "job displacement," meaning they are losing their jobs largely because of major

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