fbpx While Wages Increase, Retail Employment Decreases According to the Labor Department, hourly earnings for retail workers are up 2.5 percent year-over-year, but retail industry employment is down 8500 jobs in May from April. “Though job growth in the retail industry decelerated in May, employment overall is above what is needed to keep sustained growth in the economy,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Solid fundamentals in the job market are encouraging for retail spending, as employment gains generate additional income for consumers and consequently increase spending.” (NRF) Amazon Granted Patent for Parachute-Dropping Drone After applying for a patent for an “aerial package delivery system” in August 2015, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Amazon the patent on May 30, 2017. Though the ecommerce giant has already been experimenting with drone delivery technology, this new patent offers a new way to make sure packages arrive safely. The patent is for a label that is attached to packages and releases a parachute after being dropped to prevent damage to the package. The inventor listed on the patent is John Hanlon, senior technical program manager for Prime Air. Amazon has not said when it plans to use the technology of the parachute label. (CSA) More Woes for Luxury Retail  Michael Kors announced plans to close 100 to 125 of their shops last week after a disappointing fourth quarter. The company is facing “a difficult retail environment with elevated promotional levels,” said Michael Kors CEO John Idol. “In addition, our product and store experience did not sufficiently engage and excite consumers,” Idol said. “We acknowledge that we need to take further steps to elevate the level of fashion and innovation in our accessories assortments and enhance our store experience in order to deepen consumer desire and demand for our products.” (USA Today)