Retailers are hiring for the holiday season, but fewer seasonal employees will be hired this year to help customers in stores and collect online orders in warehouses.
E-commerce giant Amazon said on Thursday it would hire 250,000 part-time and seasonal workers for the important shopping period, adding to several announcements made in recent weeks by the country’s top retailers.
Amazon hired the same employees as last year, the same as Bath & Body Works and Target, which said in September it plans to bring on about 100,000 seasonal employees and offer current employees the option to work extra hours during the holiday shopping period.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s department stores are encouraging people to apply for positions but remain tight-lipped about the plans, reflecting Walmart, which said it has been hiring store partners throughout the year and will tap its own staff if needed during busy seasons.
Others have indicated that they will reduce the number of holiday recruits. Macy’s said it plans to add more than 31,500 seasonal positions this year at Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, as well as distribution centers. Last year, the company added 38,000.
This year’s demand for seasonal workers comes as economists watch the U.S. labor market for signs of a slowdown. Job vacancies have continued to decline since reaching 12.2 million in March 2022. As the economy shakes again with the unexpected force of the COVID-19 lockdown, companies are scrambling to find enough workers to keep up with customer orders.
The holiday shopping period is the busiest time of year for online and brick-and-mortar retailers, some of which have announced discount events to entice consumers who want to shop early for gifts.
The consulting firm Deloitte estimates that US retail sales will increase by 2.3% to 3.3% between November and January and reach a total of $1.59 trillion. EY-Parthenon, Ernst’s consulting arm & Young, forecast a 3% jump in sales over the traditional November-December period.
However, EY Parthenon expects price increases due to inflation to account for a large part of the growth, saying real volume sales will only rise 0.5% year-on-year.
Online sales, a growing retail segment, are expected to increase 8.4% and reach a record $240.8 billion, according to Adobe, which tracks e-commerce transactions.
“Currently, retailers appear optimistic for a strong holiday shopping season, which is reflected in their plans to hire major retailers and warehouses,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray. & Christmas
Overall, US retailers are expected to add 520,000 new jobs in the final quarter of this year compared to 564,200 in 2023, according to a report released last month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas The firm, which analyzed seasonally unadjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said more than 509,300 seasonally employed retailers would be added in 2022.
In general, the labor market has weakened since the Federal Reserve raised benchmark interest rates several times in 2022 and 2023 to combat high inflation. Last month, the Fed cut its key rate for the first time in more than four years. The move reflects a renewed focus on strengthening the job market.
But the retail industry may face challenges filling vacancies in the coming weeks and months “due to demand for jobs and salaries,” Challenger said.
To hire, companies like Macy’s and JCPenney as well as sporting goods stores Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s recruit workers through national hiring events. JCPenney plans to hire more than 10,000 store associates, about the same as last year. Macy’s said it will offer live interviews during its first event, which took place last week at its stores and warehouses. The company plans to hold three more events this year.
“We found a strong flow of applications,” Macy said, adding that nearly a third of the new hires were people who had worked for the company before.
Amid the growth of online shopping, delivery giant UPS said it plans to hire 125,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, up from 100,000 last year.
Radial, an e-commerce company that powers delivery for brands like Calvin Klein and Express, said it plans to hire fewer people but also plans to scale staff based on real-time demand. That approach allows the company to meet customer needs “without overcommitting,” said Billy Peterson, senior vice president at Radial.
On the buyer’s side, consumers have been holding back on spending while also showing signs of stress, with credit card debt rising and savings rates falling, a trend that could weigh on spending in the coming months.
Retail sales rose from July to August, after jumping the most in a year and a half earlier. At the same time, consumers are wiser about their purchases and resist high prices by trading down to store brands or find deals on products.
However, holiday shoppers could see higher product prices if the dock workers’ strike that has closed all major ports on the US East Coast and Gulf Coast lasts more than a month.
