Getting your player ready...
While retail holiday hiring hit a 12-year high in 2012, shaky consumer confidence and increased efficiencies among retailers may prevent seasonal employment gains from reaching such lofty heights this year, according to an outlook released by global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
In its annual holiday hiring forecast, Challenger estimated that seasonal job gains will not see a significant decline from last year’s robust numbers, but they are likely to at best match the level of hiring that occurred in October, November, and December 2012. With many retailers already starting holiday-themed ads and breaking out Christmas decorations in stores, those hoping to get in on the seasonal hiring push should act early. In 2012, retail employment increased by a non-seasonally-adjusted 751,800 between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. That was the heaviest holiday hiring binge since 2000, when retailers added 788,200 to their payrolls during the final three months of the year. The 2012 holiday hiring total was up 14 percent from the previous year, when 660,200 extra seasonal workers were hired. Last year marked the fourth consecutive increase in holiday hiring since 2008, at the height of the Great Recession. Retailers added just 324,900 workers that year, the fewest since 1982, when holiday retail employment grew only 259,500. There are several factors that could keep holiday hiring from reaching last year’s level. While, the economy and job market are improving, it has now been four years since the recession officially ended and millions of Americans are still unemployed or underemployed. As a result, consumers remain uneasy, which is evidenced by wide monthly mood swings in confidence surveys. Price conscious consumers are doing more and more of their holiday shopping online, where they often find the best deals and can typically enjoy free delivery and no sales tax. The ongoing shift to Internet shopping could see some seasonal hiring in this area, but the numbers will never match the employment gains seen in traditional brick-and-mortar establishments,. For example, last year Amazon announced plans to hire 5,000 seasonal workers to meet increased holidayactivity. This year, eBay has announced plans to add 2,000 workers and Eddie Bauer plans to add 1,200 workers to an Ohio distribution and customer service center. While these numbers are nothing to scoff at, they pale in comparison to the 53,000 seasonal workers to be added by Kohl’s Department Store this year and the 70,000 that Target plans to hire, according to recent announcements.
