The Workforce AI Index · Consumer Cyclical
Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST)
Off-price retailer, over 85% in stores. Read October 1, 2026 from the annual report for the period ending 2026-01-31, filed 2026-03-31. Ranked 7 of the 39 Consumer Cyclical companies read so far, by the share within reach now: the sector.
The filing states approximately 111,000 associates with over 85% in its retail stores, so the stores take that share (a) and the distribution centers the remainder by description (c).
The figures on this page come from the company's own annual report and from BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. They are estimates with a stated method. Nothing here says what the company will do: within reach is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings.
What follows from the reading
Share of working time within reach of AI, on the long-run pace at four in five: 23% now, 28% at the end of 2027, 29% at the end of 2028, 30% at the end of 2030. By the patterns, the work is about 30% desk work, 25% people work and 45% body work. These are the site's industry estimates weighted by the shares below: estimates with a stated method and range, not a forecast of what the company will do. By the same patterns, at the end of 2028 about 70% of the working time stays with people (conversation, in-person and hands-on work), 16% becomes checking a model's work and 13% could be handed over with lighter checks, from the industries' own figures, not the company's roles.
Headcount
111,000 employees as of 2026-01-31 (stated). The filing describes stores, distribution centers and offices without a count by country.
The filing: “As of January 31, 2026, we had approximately 111,000 total associates, which includes both full- and part-time associates in our stores, distribution centers, and buying and corporate offices.”
The workforce as industry patterns
| Pattern | Share | Reason, from the filing |
|---|---|---|
| Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers | 90% | By a stated share (a): over 85% of associates worked in its retail stores, with the buying and corporate offices kept inside the retail pattern under rule 6. |
| Warehousing and Storage | 10% | By description (c) within the stated remainder: the distribution centers the filing names among its workplaces, with no count of their own. |
What the filing says about the workforce: Approximately 111,000 full- and part-time associates, over 85% in retail stores; temporary associates hired in peak seasons; no associates under a collective bargaining agreement.
Companies read with the same leading pattern
Other companies whose largest staffing pattern is also Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers, largest first, each read from its own annual report. Within reach now and at the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
- TJX (TJX, 377,000 employees)23% now, 31% by 2028
- Burlington Stores, Inc. (BURL, 83,309 employees)23% now, 31% by 2028
- The Gap, Inc. (GAP, 79,000 employees)23% now, 32% by 2028
What the filing says about AI
2 sentences in the filing name AI. The filing names AI in 2 sentences: as a technology that may inform merchandising, pricing and assortment decisions with costs and risks from premature adoption, and as an advance that increases cybersecurity risk.
- “Advancements in technology (including artificial intelligence or other emerging technologies) will present opportunities to inform merchandising, pricing, assortment, and other key business decisions; however, there are costs, risks and potential adverse consequences from premature adoption or over-reliance on those emerging technologies.”
- “The increasing sophistication of cybercriminals, the increased potential for cyberattacks, the advances in computer capabilities and artificial intelligence, and remote access increases these risks.”
Headcount by filing year
As reported in each year's annual report, with the filing. A year marked not read had no figure the reading could take from the report's text.
| Period | Employees | Filed | Filing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-02-01 | 107,000 | 2025-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2024-02-03 | 108,000 | 2024-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2023-01-28 | 101,000 | 2023-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2022-01-29 | 100,000 | 2022-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2021-01-30 | 93,700 | 2021-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2020-02-01 | 92,500 | 2020-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2019-02-02 | 88,100 | 2019-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2018-02-03 | 82,700 | 2018-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2017-01-28 | 78,600 | 2017-03-28 | 10-K |
| 2016-01-30 | 77,800 | 2016-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2015-01-31 | 71,400 | 2015-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2014-02-01 | 66,300 | 2014-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2013-02-02 | 57,500 | 2013-04-02 | 10-K |
| 2012-01-28 | 53,900 | 2012-03-27 | 10-K |
| 2011-01-29 | 49,500 | 2011-03-29 | 10-K |
| 2010-01-30 | 45,600 | 2010-03-30 | 10-K |
| 2009-01-31 | 40,000 | 2009-03-31 | 10-K |
| 2008-02-02 | 39,100 | 2008-04-01 | 10-K |
| 2007-02-03 | 35,800 | 2007-04-03 | 10-K |
| 2006-01-28 | 33,200 | 2006-04-12 | 10-K |
| 2005-01-29 | 30,100 | 2005-04-14 | 10-K |
| 2004-01-31 | 26,600 | 2004-04-15 | 10-K |
| 2003-02-01 | 22,500 | 2003-04-23 | 10-K |
| 2002-02-02 | 21,000 | 2002-04-25 | 10-K |
| 2001-02-03 | 19,800 | 2001-04-27 | 10-K |
| 2000-01-29 | 20,700 | 2000-04-28 | 10-K |
| 1999-01-30 | 20,100 | 1999-04-22 | 10-K405 |
| 1998-01-31 | 17,000 | 1998-04-24 | 10-K405 |
| 1997-02-01 | 14,853 | 1997-04-30 | 10-K405 |
| 1996-02-03 | 11,935 | 1996-04-29 | 10-K |
| 1995-01-28 | 10,574 | 1995-04-24 | 10-K405 |
| 1994-01-29 | 8,949 | 1994-04-28 | 10-K |
Limits of this reading
- The collector's first figure of 200,000 was a share count; the human capital section's 111,000 total associates replaces it.
- The distribution center share within the stated remainder rests on description (c).
Source: the company's annual report on EDGAR, accession 0000745732-26-000006, the filing. Read by Claude Fable 5.1 under rubric version 1, by the method. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Questions about this company
- How much of Ross Stores, Inc.'s working time is within reach of AI?
- An estimated 23% now and 29% by the end of 2028, on METR's long-run pace at four in five, from the workforce Ross Stores, Inc.'s own annual report describes and BLS staffing patterns for its industries, never from a roster. It is an estimate with a stated method. It is not a forecast of jobs lost or of savings, and it says nothing about what the company will do.
- How many people does Ross Stores, Inc. employ?
- 111,000 as of January 31, 2026, as its annual report for the period ending January 31, 2026 states.
- What kinds of work make up Ross Stores, Inc.'s workforce?
- Read from its annual report as a blend of 2 industry staffing patterns, the largest Clothing and Clothing Accessories Retailers; by those patterns the work is about 30% desk work, 25% people work and 45% body work. Each share has a one-sentence reason on this page that can be checked against the filing.
- What does Ross Stores, Inc.'s annual report say about AI?
- 2 sentences in the filing name AI. They are counted and quoted on this page, never judged: a count says how much a filing talks about AI, not what the company does with it.
- How is this estimated?
- Claude Fable 5.1 read the annual report under the Index's written rubric (version 1) on October 1, 2026: the stated headcount, the share in the U.S. when stated, and the workforce as a blend of industry staffing patterns. The estimates are the site's industry estimates weighted by those shares, from O*NET tasks with estimated lengths and METR's measurements of how long a task AI models can finish. A company can write to info@stratussc.com to have its reading checked against its filing.
Embed these figures on your site
A small card with the share of working time within reach now and at the end of 2027, 2028 and 2030, the date and a link back. Free under CC BY 4.0; the card carries the credit.