Dive Brief:
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Thanks to a stronger economy and lower unemployment, workers are able to be a bit pickier about the jobs they take, including temporary seasonal work at the holidays. And with more potential employees also already in full-time jobs, there are fewer looking for part-time work at the holidays.
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That’s making it more difficult for retailers to find the workers they need to meet the holiday rush. All in all, holiday hiring is expected to be steady compared to last year at most retailers.
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More hours and higher pay are becoming necessary to lure workers to accept high-stress holiday jobs in stores, e-commerce centers, and warehouses, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Dive Insight:
Retailers have been hoping for an improving economy so that consumers can relax and spend. But of course, the same workers that have fatter wallets are also more free to say “no” to lower-paying, high stress jobs. And when it comes to such jobs at retailers at the holidays, they appear to be doing just that.
Not that the picture is all rosy for workers. Pay growth is still somewhat lukewarm, and that will continue to vex retailers. But also vexing will be the difficulties retailers will have — and are seeing — in finding workers willing to accept the pay and working conditions they offer during the holiday season.
With more potential employees also already in full-time jobs, there are fewer looking for part-time work at the holidays.
To combat that, retailers are boosting pay and offering more hours.
Toys R Us for example this year compared to last is offering more part-time workers opportunities for more hours, Macy’s is turning more part-time jobs into full-time ones, and Target is offering more money for workers handling the busiest shifts.
“We’re feeling a little bit of the tightness in the market,” Toys R Us global chief talent officer Tim Grace, told The Wall Street Journal. Grace also noted that the retailer is on track to fill 40,000 seasonal positions, but said “we are not getting as many applicants as we have in the past.”