Using data from Bloomberg, analysts from Credit Suisse estimate that there could be 37,000 retail-sector layoffs this year

Credit Suisse analysts expect that retail-sector layoffs in 2016 will be at the highest levels since 2010, reports MarketWatch.

Based on data from Bloomberg, which culled numbers from news headlines, analysts estimate there could be more than 37,000 retail-sector layoffs in 2016. In 2010, Bloomberg calculated 30,273 layoffs.

Contributing to the increase: the number of retailers that have been filing for bankruptcy. So far in 2016, Macy’s, Wal-Mart, Nordstrom, and Sears Holdings, which operates Sears and Kmart, have all announced cuts.

“Most of the layoffs announced year to date are at the store-associate level, as a result of retailers closing unproductive stores to ‘right size’ their brick-and-mortar footprint, or as a result of retailers attempting to reduce the number of employees per store,” Credit Suisse said in a statement. “These layoffs are clearly an attempt to deal with the decline in brick-and-mortar productivity, as brick-and-mortar sales are lost to e-commerce while store expenses grow due to increasing wages.”

The news comes on the heels of Green Street Advisors’ research that suggests that department stores will continue to close.

JCK