US retailer holiday hiring set to be lower than last year

Burlington Stores

17/09/2024 11:00

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      Retailers expected to add 520,000 seasonal jobs in 2024 vs
564,200 in 2023, says report
    

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      Seasonal employers will add jobs, but need may fluctuate
    

  
    By Savyata  Mishra
       Sept 17 (Reuters) - U.S. retailers will hire fewer
seasonal workers this holiday season than last year due to a
softer labor market and tighter consumer spending heading into
the crucial shopping period, according to a report by
Challenger, Gray & Christmas provided exclusively to Reuters.
    Retailers are expected to add 520,000 new jobs in the final
quarter of 2024 compared to 564,200 in 2023, according to the
firm's analysis of non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
    "This prediction considers that now, job gains are falling,
and consumers have tightened spending ... Seasonal employers
will add jobs, but need may fluctuate as the season progresses,"
said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president at Challenger,
Gray & Christmas which tracks government data and hiring trends.
    Holiday sales are expected to grow at their slowest pace in
six years, according to data from Deloitte last week, as
persistent inflation and depleted savings turn shoppers more
frugal.
    "One possibility is retailers will be unable to fill
positions... The other is that retailers will not have the need
for so many workers, particularly if the economy cools faster
and consumers decide to shop less this holiday," Challenger
added.
    The forecast for holiday hires is the lowest since 2022 when
retailers added 509,300 seasonal jobs and second-lowest since
2009 when it was 495,800.
     
    
    Momentum in the labor market has slowed, with U.S.
employment rising less than expected in August, according to a
Labor Department report.
    U.S.-based companies have so far announced 178,350 planned
hires for the holiday season, according to the report from
Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
    The Challenger report does not include all retail companies.
    Retailer Target  TGT.N  said on Monday it would hire 100,000
seasonal workers, in line with the last three years, to beef up
staffing at its stores and supply chain facilities.
    Burlington Stores  BURL.N  plans to hire 1,500 full-time and
23,000 part-time seasonal workers this holiday season, while
Bath & Body Works  BBWI.N  said it would hire 30,000 seasonal
workers for the holiday season, same as 2023.

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2024 holiday hiring is set to fall below 2023 levels    https://reut.rs/3B4fQ7T
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 (Reporting by Savyata Mishra and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in
Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
 ((Savyata.Mishra@thomsonreuters.com;))