Fashion chains hiring on back of consumer spending

Fashion chains hiring on

By SHARON WROBEL
Fashion chains are hiring again as consumer spending sparks economic growth. The big fashion chains including Zara, Mango, Fox and Castro, hired 70 new employees over the recent month, according to a report published on Sunday by L.M. Personnel Services, a leading human resources company. "Until now, the hiring of workers was relatively weak since over the course of last year many more experienced employees were laid off," said Rafi Alimalach, CEO of L.M. Personnel Services. "However we are continuing to receive requests for the hiring of workers by the chains. I expect the large fashion chains to hire another 75 to 100 employees until the end of the year" Consumer spending on clothing and shoes serves as an indicator for the state of the economy. Overshadowed by the repercussions of the economic crisis, large fashion chains experienced a decline of between 15 percent and 25% in sales over the course of last year. As a result fashion chains were forced to reduce number of branches and lay off workers. L.M. Personnel Services said that over the last month the demand for workers at large fashion chains has picked up strongly. In order to meet the demand. The human resources company opened the fashion job division focusing solely on retail and has signed a work agreement with the largest fashion and retail chains in the country including Zara, Mango, Fox, Shekem Electric, Ikea and Hamashbir Lazarchan. L.M. Personnel Services reported that over the course of the past month the company has placed 45 sales people and 25 managers at the chains. The company's fashion jobs division is also running basic and advanced training courses teaching sales and quality services skills so that new employees will be able to start work immediately. Governor of the Bank of Israel Professor Stanley Fischer cautioned last week that although macroeconomic data shows that the economy is in good shape, the current rate of growth has not yet reached the level at which it can have a significant impact on unemployment. The economy grew 2.2% in the third quarter led by more robust consumer spending, according to the latest figures published by the Central Bureau of Statistics. Consumer spending grew 8.9% in the third quarter, compared with a rise of 5.2% in the previous quarter. Per-capita consumer spending was up 6.9% in the third quarter and 6.4% in the second quarter after falling 5.2% in the first quarter. Furthermore, the country's index of leading economic indicators rose a preliminary 0.46% in October, its seventh consecutive month pointing to the continuation of the positive turnaround in economic activity, the Bank of Israel reported at the end of last week. L.M. Personnel Services Ltd. was established in 1988, and is ranked among the five leading companies in the human resource and placement field by business research firm Dun & Bradstreet. L.M. has 25 branches across the country, from Karmiel in the north to major cities as Haifa, Netanya, Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva, Rishon Letziyon, Ashdod, Ashkelon, and Be'er Sheva in the south; peripheral cities as Upper Nazareth, Afula, Hadera , Rehovot, Lod, Ramle, and Sderot; and communities as Ofakim and Netivot.