Historically low unemployment rates, a return to brick-and-mortar shopping, and a later Thanksgiving and Black Friday (as well as a Cyber Monday that won’t happen until December), mean 2024 holiday hiring and shopping trends will be full of surprises, said the National Retail Federation (NRF).
According to the NRF’s holiday spending forecast, “retailers will hire between 400,000 and 500,000 seasonal workers this year, compared with 509,000 seasonal hires in 2023. Those retailers may be pulling out all the stops to make it happen,” said the NRF.
“Historically, postings for seasonal workers start ramping up in September and peak in November, offering a preview of what we can expect as we head into the holidays. This year, job postings advertising Christmas and seasonal employment returned to pre-pandemic levels following last year’s postings trend. While employers aren’t entering the holidays with new pessimism, the hiring frenzy of recent years has certainly cooled off,” said Indeed’s Hiring Lab.
The NRF said that rather than focusing on the stay-at-home parent looking for a few extra hours, retailers might want to entice the younger generation motivated by discounts and being on site, even if it means some additional training for those in a first job.
“When you talk to frontline workers, including seasonal hires, they want flexibility and contentment at work,” says Edwin Egee, vice president, government relations and workforce development for NRF. “They want to be able to set their own schedules. They want to like their job, be friends with their coworkers, and feel included, respected and heard.”
Amazon said it’s looking to hire 250,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal roles across its customer fulfillment and transportation operations in the U.S. for the holidays. Amazon said that “each season we see many individuals come back year after year to be a part of the holiday season here at Amazon. In fact, nearly one-third of people who have come to work at Amazon as a holiday hire return.”
In the July 2023 edition of NACS Magazine, NACS discussed ways retailers can navigate the challenges of hiring new team members. Read “The High Cost of New Hires” here.