Hiring for the holidays?
Many companies already are making pitches to lure more holiday workers. Common perks include discounted items and special shopping days.
Retailers are expecting a robust holiday-shopping season, with the economy on a solid footing and consumer confidence strong. They’re aware of a tight job market, nationally and in Arizona.
So it’s no wonder many companies already are making pitches to lure more holiday workers. Many have been preparing to boost employment for months. Besides pay, common perks for seasonal workers include discounted merchandise and special shopping days.
“Retailers have been aggressively hiring seasonal workers since July to combat the tight job market,” said Andrew Challenger, a vice president at global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Retail, transport and warehousing jobs will be plentiful.”
The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales this year will jump 4.3 percent to 4.8 percent over last year’s levels. Over the past five years, holiday sales have risen by an average of 3.9 percent, so merchants expect a buoyant shopping season ahead.
Here are some companies that have announced holiday-staffing plans:
UPS adding 3,500 in Phoenix
Package-delivery giant United Parcel Service plans to hire more than 3,500 people in metro Phoenix among 100,000 open positions nationally.
The local positions include 2,500 package handlers, nearly 630 driver assistants and 140 drivers. UPS has established a temporary facility in Goodyear to help handle the extra seasonal volume. The company also will hire at two locations in Phoenix and one each in Tempe and Mesa.
Pay for UPS tractor-trailer and other driver jobs starts at $18.75 per hour. Package handlers start at $14 an hour and driver-helpers at $11 an hour.
Some positions will become permanent. About 35 percent of the people hired by UPS over the past three years for seasonal package-handler jobs stayed with the company. Visit upsjobs. com for more information.
Target hiring up 20 percent
Target said it plans to hire 120,000 workers nationally in coming weeks — the largest holiday hiring goal by a traditional retailer since Challenger, Gray began tracking these announcements in 2012. The 120,000 figure also marks a 20,000 increase from Target’s seasonal hiring in 2017. The company also will add 7,500 more jobs in distribution and fulfillment centers. It didn’t disclose numbers for metropolitan Phoenix.
The positions at Target generally will start at $12 an hour. Applicants can visit targetseasonaljobs.com for additional information.
J.C. Penney seeking 550 people
J.C. Penney plans to hire more than 550 seasonal workers in metropolitan Phoenix for in-store positions including cashiers, replenishment specialists, beauty consultants.
The company, which plans to fill 1,000 seasonal jobs throughout Arizona, will hold a hiring event with job interviews from 2 to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
J.C. Penney is planning to add 39,000 seasonal workers nationally. The company’s website lists nine stores in metro Phoenix. Visit jcpcareers.com for additional information.
Filling the Gap
Gap Inc. plans to hire 250 seasonal workers in the Phoenix area, and 65,000 nationally, for work at its Gap, Banana Republic, Athleta and Old Navy stores, call centers and distribution centers.
Seasonal positions include in-store sales associates, customer-relations reps at call centers, people who coordinate shipments from distribution centers to stores, those who fulfill customers’ orders from online or mobile devices, and workers who handle customer calls. For more information, visit jobs.gapinc.com/seasonal.
Kohl’s, others looking
Kohl’s announced plans to hire 90,000 seasonal associates nationally, with an undisclosed number in metro Phoenix.
The retailer will hold hiring events Oct. 26 and 27at select Kohl’s stores nationwide, though the company hasn’t yet identified any Phoenix-area stores. For more information, see kohlsca reers.com/hiring.
Other large hiring announcements include 80,000 seasonal workers nationally for Macy’s (macysJOBS.com), with a hiring event from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, and 55,000 seasonal workers nationally for FedEx (careers.fe dex.com).