Retail outlets including Target and Macy’s have also announced hiring.
E-commerce firm Amazon is set to boost its workforce by a quarter million with the U.S. holiday season just a few months away.
“This year, we’re hiring for 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal roles across our customer fulfillment and transportation operations in the U.S., and we’re excited to welcome new teammates across the country,” Amazon
said in an Oct. 3 post. “The details vary depending on the role, but all of our jobs offer great pay, flexible schedules, and access to a range of benefits,” it stated.
“All seasonal employees earn at least $18 per hour and have access to benefits like health care from the first day on the job.”
Seasonal employees who opt to stay with the company for the longer term can expect an average pay rise of 15 percent in the first three years, the company noted. In addition to hiring, Amazon will also induct individuals who regularly sign up at the company to be part of the holiday season workforce.
The number of new hires is similar to the number of workers it
hired ahead of the 2023 holiday season.
Like Amazon, other major retail chains are also ramping up their hiring with holidays fast approaching. Last month, Target
said it plans on hiring approximately 100,000 seasonal workers across the United States.
Macy’s also
announced intentions to hire more than 31,500 seasonal positions. The firm will hold nationwide in-person hiring events across its stores between Sept. 26 and Dec. 4.
Holiday hiring could be a crucial indicator of economic strength. Economists are already watching the U.S. job market closely to see if it exhibits any sign of a slowdown.
Job openings have
declined over the past year, dropping from 9,358,000 openings in August 2023 to 8,040,000 in August 2024, a fall of over 14 percent.
Last month, the U.S. economy created a higher-than-expected number of new jobs. Bryce Doty, the senior vice president and senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates, said in a note that these numbers suggest the U.S. economy is not close to entering an economic downturn.
“Impressive jobs report. Still no signs of the economy sinking into a recession,” he wrote. “The key for us will be if this strong jobs report translates into higher inflation. We don’t see signs of that.”
Holiday Sales and Employment
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. is
predicting seasonal job additions at retailers to be less than what it was in the fourth quarter of 2023.
In Q4 last year, retailers added 564,200 new jobs. This time around, Challenger is expecting an addition of 520,000 new jobs, the second-lowest total since 2009.
“This prediction considers that now, job gains are falling, and consumers have tightened spending. That said, the cooling seems to be slow. Seasonal employers will add jobs, but need may fluctuate as the season progresses,” said Andrew Challenger, labor expert and senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“One possibility is retailers will be unable to fill positions, which has proven true in the post-pandemic years. The other is that retailers will not have the need for so many workers, particularly if the economy cools faster and consumers decide to shop less this holiday.”
Meanwhile, retail market sales are expected to see a marginal increase this holiday season. Professional services network Deloitte is
projecting a 2.3–3.3 percent increase in holiday retail sales. E-commerce, a key driver of overall sales growth, is calculated to rise by 7–9 percent.
Akrur Barua, an economist at Deloitte Insights, noted that a “healthy growth” in disposable personal income is expected to support “solid” holiday sales numbers.
Salesforce is
predicting holiday sales growth in 2024 to be less than the 3 percent registered in 2023. While 47 percent of shoppers said they will spend the same amount as last year, 40 percent are buying less, the firm noted.
“This season will be competitive, intense, and no doubt focused on pricing and discounting strategies,” said Caila Schwartz, Director of Strategy and Consumer Insights.
