ORLANDO, Fla. — The seasonal job market is expected to look different in this year of the coronavirus, as even more holiday shoppers make their purchases online and unemployment remains high.
Companies such as UPS are loading up with package handlers and drivers, and jobs available inside stores are changing as well to serve online customers. Big shopping days like Black Friday could also potentially see smaller crowds as deals start even earlier, meaning retailers might not need to staff up as much as they normally do.
The number of people looking for jobs also is sure to be higher.
UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 seasonal employees for the annual increase in packages from October through January.
“We’re preparing for a record peak holiday season,” chief human resources officer Charlene Thomas said in a news release. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made our services more important than ever.”
The company reports that over the past three years about 35% of seasonal employees were hired for permanent jobs after the holidays.
While not billed as seasonal jobs, Amazon announced it’s hiring 100,000 people in the United States and Canada as it expands its footprint.
Walmart said it plans to hire more than 20,000 seasonal workers in its eCommerce fulfillment centers across the country, with starting hourly wages ranging from $15.75 to $23.75.
“The holidays are always a special time, and this year, we think the season will mean even more to our customers,” Greg Smith, executive vice president for supply chain for Walmart U.S., said in a news release. “As more of them turn to online shopping, we want to ensure we’re staffed and ready to help deliver that special gift to their loved ones while continuing to fulfill our customer’s everyday needs.”
Jobs created by online shopping aren’t necessarily delivery jobs, said Mara Devitt, senior partner at Chicago-based retail consulting firm McMillanDoolittle. As customers make their purchases online to get at the store, there are new jobs manning curbside pickup and filling orders inside the business.
“Many retailers are using their stores as a distribution point instead of the warehouse,” Devitt said.
Target, which offers a starting wage of $15, anticipates seasonal hiring to be “on-par” with last year as the company plans to double store employees focused on drive-up and order pickup, according to a news release. Last year more than 130,000 employees were expected to be hired nationally by the company for the holiday season.
“During the first half of fiscal 2020, more than 10 million new guests shopped Target.com and demand for same-day fulfillment options quadrupled,” the release said.
.”We are waiting for new data and are still assembling puzzle pieces for the 2020 holiday season,” National Retail Federation chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said in a monthly economic review. “I am cautiously optimistic about the fourth quarter in terms of the economy and consumer spending, but the outlook is clouded with uncertainty pivoting on COVID-19 infection rates.”
The Link LonkOctober 25, 2020 at 04:59PM
https://ift.tt/2Tno8yJ
Hiring on the upswing for as holiday shopping season starts - Boston Herald
https://ift.tt/2QoXNjh
Holiday
No comments:
Post a Comment