McDonald’s aims at job creation, consumer spending with new hiring initiative
In January, President Obama emphasized the role of retail in job creation during his State of the Union – and retailers heard the call to action loud and clear. As the industry closest to the consumer, it’s no surprise retailer and restaurant leaders are the first in line to facilitate an economic comeback.
In recent months, we’ve seen retailers like Gap and Macy’s answer the call. And now McDonald’s will join other industry brands in doing what they can to foster job creation.
As one of America’s favorite fast food restaurants and a supplier of nearly 400,000 jobs in the U.S., McDonald’s has announced plans to hire 50,000 new employees in April – a feat that the company is hoping will spur economic growth nationwide. According to McDonald’s, the April 19 National Hiring Day investment will generate more than $1.3 billion in consumer spending. And that breaks down to quite an impact to our nation’s local communities. State and local economies can expect to see the expected revenue from this initiative translate into an additional increase in spending as follows:
- $421.1 million spent on housing
- $181.8 million spent on taxes
- $176.5 million spent on groceries
- $38.8 million spent on healthcare
The value of retail as a job creation engine is not to be ignored, especially by our nation’s lawmakers. As retailers like Gap, Macy’s and McDonald’s continue to bring workforce initiatives to the table, it is NRF’s hope that Congress and the President will work to create policies that are pro-growth and encourage investment and consumption — front-of-mind issues include repealing health care employer mandates or finalizing swipe fee relief for retailers and consumers.
As NRF President Matthew Shay has said, NRF and the retail industry as a whole, stand ready to work with our nation’s leaders to “put Americans back to work.” NRF hopes our lawmakers feel the same.