US retailer holiday hiring to drop to levels last seen in 2008

1-800-FLOWERS.COM

15/09/2023 19:18

* 
      Retailers expected to add 410,000 seasonal jobs this
holiday
season
    

        * 
      Higher labor costs, muted spending causing hesitancy in
hiring
    

        * 
      Labor market has shown signs of easing recently
    

  
 (Adds details on retailer hiring announcements so far, quote,
Bath & Body Works comment)
    By Siddharth Cavale
       NEW YORK, Sept 15 (Reuters) - U.S. retailers will hire
the lowest number of seasonal workers for this holiday season
since 2008, due to increased labor costs and shaky consumer
confidence, according to a report by Challenger, Gray &
Christmas provided exclusively to Reuters.
    Retailers are expected to add just 410,000 seasonal jobs
this season, according to an analysis of nonseasonally adjusted
data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the global
outplacement and executive coaching firm. That is just slightly
above the 324,900 workers they added during the last quarter of
the financial recession of 2008. 
    U.S. retailers added 519,400 jobs in the last quarter of
2022, a 26% decline from the same period in 2021.
    Holiday sales are estimated to grow at their slowest pace in
five years as dwindling household savings and worries over the
economy prompt consumers to spend judiciously, according to
Deloitte.
    Employers are already showing signs of hesitancy in hiring
as the labor market starts to cool following a three-year period
of tightness. 
    U.S.-based companies have so far announced just 8,000
planned hires for the holiday season, compared with the 258,201
planned hires announced by employers by this point in 2022,
according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas' tracking.
    "We have never gone this far into September and not had big
hiring predictions from retailers," said Andrew Challenger,
senior vice president at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "It's
really surprising", he said adding that it signals uncertainty
and lower seasonal hiring trends this year. 
        The Challenger review does not include all retail
companies.  It did not include U.S. grocery chain Kroger, which
said it plans to hire "thousands" of seasonal workers, and Bath
& Body Works  BBWI.N , which it does not track.
  
        Challenger said it will include Kroger in an updated
version of the report in the coming days once more retailers
make announcements. Still, the current seasonal hiring
announcements remain far short of what was seen at this time in
2022.
  
    1-800-Flowers.com on Thursday said it plans to hire more
than 8,000 seasonal workers across its family of brands,
including Harry & David and The Popcorn Factory.
    The gifting company is seeking to fill positions in
"critical areas" such as production and gift assembly, contact
center, distribution, and fulfillment center operations. The
majority of roles will be offered in cities like Atlanta and in
the states of Illinois, Ohio, and Oregon, it said. 
   Bath & Body Works said it would offer flexible work hours, a
$500 associate referral bonus and a 40% store-wide discount to
the 2,500 seasonal employees it is looking to hire at its four
Ohio-based distribution centers. 
    The roles it seeks to fill include merchandise processors,
merchandise handlers, outbound loaders and high-lift operators,
the company told Reuters.
    The retailer - which sells soaps, body lotions and candles -
plans to hire about 30,000 seasonal sales associates for its
United States and Canada stores, the same as last year, the
company added. 
    "All of the roles are seasonal with the potential for
longer-term employment," a spokesperson said. 
    U.S. grocery chain Kroger Co  KR.N  said it would hire
"thousands" of workers for the holidays, which traditionally
begins on Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas day, but has been
starting earlier every year. The company, which is in the midst
of a merger with Albertsons Inc  ACI.N  that could add even more
staff, did not disclose a number on the holiday staff it would
hire. 
    The retailer is looking to fill positions in areas including
retail, e-commerce, manufacturing, supply chain and healthcare.

 (Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in New York
Editing by Matthew Lewis and Deepa Babington)
 ((siddharth.cavale@thomsonreuters.com; Cell: +1 646-288-4330;))