In tight job market, hunt’s on for seasonal workers

Retailers, shipping companies in Santa Fe and beyond face decrease in available workers

’Tis the season for local stores and those looking for part-time retail employment — which could lead to full-time jobs — to match skill sets with holiday openings.

But one thing is different this time: Current low unemployment numbers are making it harder for retailers nationwide to get bodies behind those cash registers. As a result, retailers are enticing candidates with higher pay and perks such as paid time off, 401(k) retirement programs and paid certification programs to help seasonal workers develop skills, said Ana Serafin-Smith, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.based National Retail Federation.

“From a retail perspective, it’s a little bit difficult,” she said of the search for extra help.

“It’s a very competitive time in the labor market,” she said. “There are a lot more vacancies out there, but those who are unemployed may not have the skill set to take on those jobs.”

Also posting help-wanted notices are shipping companies such as UPS, which says it is seeking 130 seasonal employees in the Santa Fe area, some of whom could become permanent, a total that is on par with the company’s hiring goal a year ago.

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Santa Fe County was 3.8 percent in August, down from 5.1 percent a year earlier, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The national jobless rate was 3.9 percent, down from 4.4 percent the previous year.

Retailers nationwide will try to hire an estimated 650,000 seasonal workers for the 2018 holiday season, National Retail Federation President and CEO Matthew Shay said during a news conference earlier this month. That’s a 10 percent increase from last year.

Some retailers jumped into the seasonal-employee hunt as early as July because of the decrease in available seasonal workers, Serafin-Smith said.

Target stores will be looking to hire 20 percent more seasonal employees nationwide than it did last year, and of those 120,000 openings, 800 are expected to be employed at 10 outlets in New Mexico, said Angie Thompson, spokeswoman for the Minneapolisbased Target chain.

The company does not reveal hiring numbers by store, Thompson said in a telephone interview, but Target has a Santa Fe location at 3550 Zafarano Drive, a store in Rio Rancho and two in Albuquerque.

The company began taking applications in September, and national hiring events were held at individual stores earlier this month. Interested applicants can visit or call their local store or apply online at targetseasonaljobs.com.

“We are hiring for a variety of positions,” said Thompson, including doubling the number of positions for employees taking online orders. Other positions include cashiers, working in guest services, as well as jobs in specific store areas such as electronics and beauty supplies.

While pay rates vary from market to market, Thompson said, the company this year raised starting wages to at least $12 per hour.

How long can seasonal employees hope to work during the employment uptick? “It’s dependent on the actual roles within the store,” Thompson said. “Historically, we have seen one-third [of seasonal employees] stay on permanently.”

Serafin-Smith said the seasonal entry into the retail job market is a good way for employees to get the proverbial foot in the door.

The typical seasonal retail employee is hard to categorize, Serafin-Smith said, but could include the unemployed, students or stay-at-home moms looking for some extra holiday cash.

Employers prefer to hire someone with some retail experience, but given the current labor market, they may not be quite so selective. There also are seasonal jobs for seniors.

Kohl’s, which has a Santa Fe outlet at 4401 Cerrillos Road at Camino Entrada, will be hiring for an estimated 90,000 seasonal openings across the country, according to the Retail Dive website.

Walmart for the past two years has used current employees for available holiday hours, but there may be “some hiring on a store by store basis,” company spokeswoman Erica Jones said in an email.

And when you buy those gifts for friends and loved ones living afar, someone is going to have to ship it. The United States Postal Service is accepting online applications in New Mexico for the holiday season, including five customer service clerks in Santa Fe, spokesman Rod Spurgeon said via email. The clerks are paid $17.19 an hour and candidates can apply at usps.com/employment.

FedEx, one of the delivery companies ramping up for the holidays, expects to add more than 55,000 positions nationwide in preparation for the peak season, spokeswoman Gretchen Mathis said, though she did not have a breakdown on the number of anticipated local hires. Interested candidates can visit careers. fedex.com for more information.

Interested applicants for the local UPS jobs, which include package handlers, drivers and driver-helpers, should complete an application at UPSJobs. com. About 35 percent of seasonal hires are called back for permanent jobs after the holidays, a spokesman said in an email.

The company promotes from within, and 130,000 current employees started with seasonal jobs. The UPS chief executive officer started as a seasonal worker more than 40 years ago, the spokesman said.