They aren’t the highest paying jobs and most won’t probably morph into full-time work.
But retailers throughout Southern California are hiring thousands of seasonal workers to keep pace with the millions of shoppers who are expected to hit the stores this holiday season.
Low gas prices, steady job gains and bigger paychecks are expected to benefit retail sales this year, but that may not equate to increased hiring. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects U.S. retailers to boost their payrolls with 755,000 seasonal hires this year — about the same as 2014.
“Once again, most analysts are anticipating healthy holiday sales this year,” company CEO John A. Challenger said in a statement. “However, there are several factors that may prevent these strong sales expectations from translating into increased hiring. For one, we have seen increased hiring earlier in the year, which may preclude the need for a lot of extra hiring as the holidays approach.”
Still, U.S. retail sales could grow by as much as 4 percent this holiday season, according to Deloitte, a professional services network. Sales, excluding vehicles and gasoline, could top out at $961 billion to $965 billion in the November-through-January shopping season, Deloitte said.
Pay tends to be low
Glassdoor, an online jobs and recruiting site, has tracked the hourly wages of retail sales associates at various department stores.
The pay ranges from $8.52 an hour at Ross Dress For Less stores to $12.07 at Dillards, an upscale department store chain headquartered in Little Rock Ark. But hourly wages at most of the stores run around $9 per hour or slightly more.
A launching pad for something better
Seasonal jobs are typically viewed as a landing place for high school and college students, or others who simply want to supplement their existing income. But Cynthia Shapiro, a Los Angeles-based career strategist, said they can also be a launching pad for skilled, but out-of-work job seekers.
“It’s a really good chance for you to impress people — to give them a sample of how great you are,” she said. “I’ve sat in on meetings where companies have said, ‘Well, this person stood out’ … or “that one did.’ But most people just treat these jobs like seasonal jobs and don’t take the opportunity to impress.”
Shapiro also noted that a seasonal job won’t jeopardize someone’s unemployment benefits.
“If you take a temporary job with an end date your unemployment will resume when the job is over,” she said. “You can call the unemployment office and they will walk you through how to do it.”
Who’s hiring?
One thing is certain: There are lots of seasonal jobs out there.
Macy’s announced that it will hire 85,000 workers this holiday season for both its namesake and Bloomingdale’s brands, about the same number as last year. Target is expected to hire 70,000 seasonal workers for the third consecutive year and Kohl’s plans to hire more than 69,000 workers, up from 67,000 last holiday season. Wal-Mart plans to keep its holiday hiring at 60,000, but Toys R Us will hire 40,000, down from 45,000 in 2014. And J.C. Penney is set to hire 30,000, down from 35,000 last year.
Much of the merchandise consumers buy this holiday season will need to be delivered locally, across the country or elsewhere throughout the world. That’s where UPS comes in.
The world’s largest package delivery company said it plans to add 90,000 to 95,000 seasonal workers this holiday season — slightly fewer than the 100,000 who were hired last year.
FedEx expects to boost its seasonal hiring by 5,000 this year, bumping the total up to 55,000.
Good news for San Bernardino
Locally, Kohl’s announced last month that it is hiring about 1,900 seasonal employees to work at its e-fulfillment center in San Bernardino.
“It’s only seasonal work through the holidays, but I am told that if the company ID’s people who are responsible and doing a good job they will hire them full-time,” said San Bernardino Councilwoman Virginia Marquez. “That’s good news for the community.”
Marquez said her ward is also home to several big warehouses run by such companies as Stater Bros., Amazon, Pep Boys and Mattel. The strong seasonal hiring by Kohl’s and those companies, she said, is a boon for the city and surrounding areas.
“It provides a ray of hope that we’re turning the corner in our region,” Marquez said. “And it provides income for people during the holidays.”
Walmart’s hiring plan
Walmart spokesman Scott Markley said his company is hiring 3,255 seasonal employees for its California stores. The hiring period already started and will run through December, depending on the needs of the stores.
“Every temporary associate will earn at least $9 an hour — with others, depending on store and job — earning more,” Markley said. “In addition to the chance to earn extra money for the holidays, we know these positions can lead to much more. Last year more than half of our seasonal associates stayed with the company in a permanent role following the holidays.”
Those who stay on will have access to the mega retailer’s new training program and scheduling options, and they will be bumped to at least $10 an hour come Feb. 1, he said.
Hiring expected to fall below 2013 level
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that retail employment increased by 449,500 from March through August. That was up from 437,000 job gains recorded during the same period a year earlier.
But Challenger, Gray & Christmas noted that last year’s 755,000 seasonal hires (the same number that is predicted for this year) fell below the 786,800 who were hired in the final three months of 2013.
Shapiro said the economic climate for landing a job looks good this year. But she added a caveat.
“As we move close to 2016 we’re seeing a lot of collapsed jobs that used to be done by three people,” she said. “Flexibility is the key. You need to be able to do a variety of things and juggle quite a bit.”
Challenger said seasonal job seekers should be prepared to look beyond the traditional retail store fronts.
“Some of the best opportunities could be in the back room, handling incoming and outgoing shipments,” he said. “Job seekers should also look for positions at warehouses and shipping facilities associated with retailers and/or transportation companies.”