Christmas is three months away, but some retailers are already showing the holiday spirit — and not just with too-early seasonal music and decor.
Retailers and shipping companies are trying to hire thousands for seasonal jobs, but Colorado’s low unemployment rate is making it tough to find those temporary helper elves.
Some are sending recruiters out to churches, community groups and colleges; others are dangling perks such as bus passes and tuition assistance, and changing their strategies to make the job application process as painless as possible.
“We’ve noticed that most of our employers looking for medium- to low-skilled employees are having trouble recruiting talent,” said Joe Barela, the director of Arapahoe/Douglas Works! “There are so few job seekers that employers are going to have a hard time.”
The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.2 percent in August — far lower than the national rate of 5.1 percent, according to the state Department of Labor and Employment. In some areas of the state, that number is even lower — about 3.9 percent in South Metro and about 3.2 percent in Douglas County, Barela said.
Simply put, it’s a job-seekers paradise out there.
Shipping is king
Employment research from Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. suggests changing consumer habits are transforming the seasonal hiring landscape.
“In addition to steady hiring leading up to the holiday season, changes in the way consumers shop are making it possible for stores to meet increased holiday demand with fewer extra workers,” the firm writes in its 2015 Holiday Hiring Outlook study. “We are also seeing more holiday jobs added outside of the retail sector.”
As e-commerce sales have swelled — accounting for 7.2 percent of total retail sales of $1.2 billion in the second quarter of this year — new workforce pressures are emerging for shippers, like United Parcel Service, FedEx and the U.S. Postal Service, which all are making big holiday hires.
Last holiday season, Postal Service parcel shipments were up 18 percent from 2013, regional spokesman David Rupert said.
This year, the Postal Service is estimating as many as 6 million pieces of holiday mail will flow through its Denver sorting facility daily — about 500,000 of which are parcels under 2 pounds, Rupert said.
“People are doing things differently and we’re the recipient of that,” he said.
The Postal Service is trying to hire 900 people on the Front Range — 400 of which are seasonal-only and 500 that could lead to a permanent job.
Since the Postal Service is a federal agency, potential recruiting perks like regional pay and hiring bonuses are a no-go, Rupert says.
UPS, on the other hand, isn’t bound by government rules and took extra steps to help find the 2,000 Colorado workers it seeks this season.
In addition to working with job fairs and offering up to $25,000 in tuition assistance to even permanent part-time employees (many seasonal jobs turn into long-term gigs), UPS hired Duane Taylor, a man with deep community connections, to reach out.
“Duane has good relationships with churches, and he’s going to an Urban League dinner this week and representing UPS,” human resources manager David Loya said. “We have to think out of the box with the market here, so we’re reaching out in nontraditional ways.”
Getting creative
Colorado’s chief economist, Alexandra Hall, said unemployment numbers do create hiring challenges. However, she said, the issue must also be viewed through the lens of dropping labor force participation among the aging Baby Boomer population.
“It’s possible to lure people out of nonparticipation in the labor force for seasonal jobs with differing compensation practices, more flexible schedules, or even breaking up one full-time position into four part-time positions,” she said.
While some may offer more flexible hours, as Hall suggests, many are focusing on incentives and convenience to try to lure workers to jobs.
Big-box retailer Target is hiring 70,000 nationwide — “thousands” of which will be placed in its 27 Denver-area stores, company spokeswoman Erika Winkels said.
Although Target may be upping hiring in fulfillment centers due to the e-retail shift, that doesn’t mean the store can slack off on customer service, she says, and it wants to make the job-search process as painless as possible.
“On Oct. 15 and 16, applicants can go into any local Denver-area Target store,” she said. “They can apply in advance online, and we’re offering them the convenience of walking in and interviewing on the spot.
“We just wanted to make it easier for applicants,” she added.
At Park Meadows mall, retailer participation in the mall’s annual seasonal hiring job fair is up dramatically, says Park Meadows senior general manager Pamela Kelly. But, she says, with more than 300 positions open this year, the struggle is real.
“Retail has been a tougher type of position to fill because the hours are so different,” Kelly said. “We are addressing this by creating a better environment.”
Creative incentives include a special free RTD pass program, and the decision by the mall to close all day on Thanksgiving and not open until 6 a.m. on Black Friday, Kelly said.
Macy’s, which employs about 1,600 in its 14 Colorado stores, is looking for an additional 1,100 people to work the holidays in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, spokeswoman Melissa Goff said.
The part-time positions, which can easily turn into a full-time job, Goff said, come with a 20 percent discount on most items — a perk she says can give Macy’s a hiring edge.
Some ski resorts are trying to get a jump on hiring by holding job fairs earlier and more frequently, Barela said. Attendance was so low at a hiring event last week for Steamboat and Winter Park ski areas that the resorts will try again in October.
“I was a little taken aback that we didn’t get more young people in here for these jobs,” he said.
Barela’s staff is trying to help by reviewing résumés and forwarding them directly to companies with needs. This is more effective than the traditional hiring “cattle call,” he said. Still, he said employers must step up their game.
“They’re going to have to look at what they’re paying those positions and up the wages … and also perhaps offer better benefits,” he said. “Maybe that’s the carrot they need to dangle to get people into the job.”
Laura Keeney: 303-954-1337, lkeeney@denverpost.com or @LauraKeeney
Hiring Information
• r: Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to noon, 14980 E. Alameda Drive
• Target: All Denver-area stores will
• Park Meadows: ., for more than 300 seasonal jobs at almost 70 retailers
• U.S. Postal Service: Apply online at
• UPS: Apply online at
• Macy’s: Apply online at
• FedEx: Apply online at
