Retail giant Target
Retail giant tries to attract, keep workers in tight labor market
says it will raise starting pay at its stores to $11 in October and $15 in 2020.
Target upped the competition for wages for retailers after announcing Monday it would raise starting pay to $11 in October and $15 in 2020.
Target joins Wal-Mart, Aldi, IKEA and other national retailers in ramping up the pressure to keep and attract new workers as unemployment rates fall and the availability of workers shrinks.
Central Florida employers aren’t immune to the pressure. Jobs-fair operators have seen the number of job seekers drop while employers seeking workers are up.
“With unemployment so low, there is a dearth of qualified people to hire,” said University of Florida retail studies lecturer Steve Kirn. “And if you are a good worker, why wouldn’t you go somewhere else to get an extra few dollars an hour? That’s a significant raise.”
Retail positions have been one of Metro Orlando’s fastest-growing job categories during the past five years, adding 17,400 jobs according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It trails only restaurant and construction jobs in terms of job growth.
Last week, Aldi announced it was hiring 500 workers in Florida at a starting wage of $11.50 an hour as the German-based discount grocery chain expands in Florida. Aldi announced an annual wage of about $50,000 for management trainees.
Wal-Mart said last year it would raise starting wages to $10. Swedish furniture seller IKEA has a starting pay near $13 an hour and gives three months of paid leave for parents of new babies that have been with the company at least a year.
Disney also announced last year that all 70,000 workers at Walt Disney World Resorts would make at least $10 an hour.
The increases in pay and benefits come as Florida’s unemployment rate hit 4 percent in August, the lowest in more than a decade.
Moves such as Target’s wage increase show that stores are fighting to keep their employees, Kirn said.
Retailers, such as Aldi, have been recruiting heavily at UF for future management and regional leaders, offering bonuses and car stipends for new hires, Kirn said.
In Florida, Target’s move will impact about 19,000 employees at the company’s 120 stores and distribution centers, a spokeswoman for the company said Monday. All hourly Target employees will be eligible, she said.
Target’s move will likely force competing retailers, such as Publix, to raise pay as well, Kirn said.
“Wages have stagnated for so long, and now there is competition for these workers,” Kirn said. “It’s the market operating as it should.”
Employers are working harder to showcase pay and benefits at job fairs held by the Central Florida Employment Council, marketing director Paula Weir said.
“The companies are realizing they need to attract talent, not just let employees know they are hiring,” Weir said. “It’s more of a job seeker’s market.”