Wanda Tucker was hired on the spot for a part-time job with Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic chain earlier this month, after searching for a full-time position since April.
“I thought I was just going in for an interview,” said Tucker, 53, of Rex, Georgia, who’d finished five years of Army Reserves postings before entering the work force. “It has been a blessing to have some money coming into the household.”
Workers are facing the most favorable job market for seasonal work since the 18-month recession that started in December 2007, getting hired with fewer interviews and, in some cases, with higher pay.
About 821,000 workers will be hired for retail seasonal jobs this year, up 11 percent from a year ago and the highest since records were started in 1990, estimates Michael Niemira, former director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers Inc. and now founder of economic forecasting firm The Retail Economist Llc. in Tucson, Arizona.
Big retailers Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., Kohl’s Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Amazon.com Inc. will hire 304,000 compared with 283,000 last year, he said. The estimate doesn’t include United Parcel Service Inc. in Atlanta, which has said it will add as many as 95,000 temporary workers, and caterers, who are expecting an increase in holiday parties.
“I don’t want to say there is pressure on wages but there is an alignment of wages with demand,” said Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist with the National Retail Federation in Washington, who is estimating as many as 800,000 workers will be added. “There is some tightening” in the job market.
Wage increase
The unemployment rate for the retail and wholesale trade sector fell to 5.1 percent in October, the lowest since early 2008 in the initial months of the recession, Labor Department figures show. Wages and salaries for retail workers rose 2.5 percent in the third quarter from the same period in 2013, the biggest increase in more than four years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Seasonal job seekers using the web site Snagajob.com are finding work in an average of 28 days this year compared with 45 days last year, company CEO Peter Harrison said. The Richmond, Virginia-based online-matching service focuses on part-time and hourly positions.
“There is a lot more activity by employers,” he said. “Clearly there is a very strong trend.”
More buying
The retail federation is projecting holiday sales to rise 4.1 percent this year, more than last year’s 3.1-percent gain, as rising employment, improved consumer confidence and lower gasoline prices lead to more buying. Sales in November and December can account for as much as 30 percent of a retailer’s annual revenue.
Bloomberg News
