800,000 Seasonal Jobs Up for Grabs: Here’s Who’s Hiring

Retailers across the country are gearing up for the holidays, and that means making sure they have enough employees to handle the surge in holiday shoppers.

According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement consulting firm, for the first time since 1999, retailers are expected to hire more than 800,000 seasonal workers this year. This suggests that retailers could see huge holiday sales numbers.

John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said:

The last two years saw holiday hiring return to pre-recession levels. This year, we could see hiring return to levels not seen since the height of the dot.com boom. Holiday spending will undoubtedly benefit from the fact that payrolls are increasing by an average of 215,000 new workers per month, so far this year. That translates into more people with jobs, which means more holiday spending money.

According to 24/7 Wall St., a recent study from Deloitte said that U.S. job growth should boost holiday spending by more than 4 percent this year, compared to 2013.

24/7 Wall St. said these seven retailers are hiring the most employees this holiday season:

• Macy’s. Hiring 86,000 workers. Unlike many retailers, Macy’s has actually grown its profits in recent years and expects a big holiday season, according to 24/7 Wall St.
• Target. Hiring 70,000 workers. Last year’s data breach made for a difficult holiday season for Target, so the company is hoping for a better season this year.
• Kohl’s. Hiring 67,000. The retailer is substantially ramping up its seasonal hiring compared to last year, despite a 1.3 percent drop in sales this year.
• Walmart. Hiring 60,000 workers. This is a 10 percent increase from last year’s holiday hiring.
• Toys R’ Us. Hiring 45,000 workers. “The surge will more than double the company’s U.S. workforce and offer seasonal workers opportunities for non-seasonal employment,” according to 24/7 Wall St.
• J.C. Penney. Hiring 35,000 workers. This holiday season is important in the struggling retailer’s turnaround plans.
• GameStop. Hiring 25,000 workers. Holiday sales are huge for the video game retailer. “Its fourth quarter, which coincides with the holidays, accounted for more than 40 percent of sales and for nearly two-thirds of its operating profit excluding non-recurring items in the last two years,” noted 24/7 Wall St.

Challenger said job seekers need to look beyond retail store fronts for jobs this holiday season, as companies such as Amazon, UPS and FedEx also look to fill positions:

Some of the best opportunities could be in the backroom, handling incoming and outgoing shipments. Job seekers should also look for positions at warehouses and shipping facilities associated with retailers and/or transportation companies.

Do you plan to do more holiday shopping this year as compared to recent years? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.