fewer stores, according to Retail Metrics data compiled from company reports.

Office Depot (ODP) shed 181 stores. Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), which completed the Walgreen and Boots Alliance merger at the end of 2014, had a net loss of 57 stores in 2015 as it merged the companies. Leather goods retailer Coach (COH) lost 45 stores, and struggling women's apparel retailer Bebe Stores (BEBE) was down net 60 stores, among others.

The outlook for retail employment is cloudy. Cowen & Co. analyst Oliver Chen said that total U.S. retail sales, both online and in-store, currently are good but not great.

"Retail sales aren't getting exuberant type of growth," Chen said. The outlook is better for spending by middle to lower-end consumers, who benefit more from lower unemployment and cheap gas, heare shopping with smartphone apps, both in stores and online. They shop and buy goods at home or on the road with their phone. They search for prices and coupons while in stores, including checking competitors' prices for items they want.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that total retail employment (online and in-store) in 2015 for the first time rose above the pre-recession high-water mark of 15.57 million set in 2007, climbing to 15.75 million.

But the National Retail Federation in its annual forecast released on Feb. 10 said that it expects retail sales employment gains of about 190,000 on a monthly average this year, down from 2015's high point.

A Feb. 12 Commerce Department retail sales report highlights the dilemma that traditional retailers face. Total retail sales grew