Macy’s and Target Announce Holiday Hiring Plans
Macy’s Inc. is set to hire over 38,000 seasonal workers, less than the 41,000 it recruited last year and about half of the 75,000 it hired in 2021.
In the mass market channel, Target plans to hire “nearly” 100,000 this year, on par with how it handled the past two holiday seasons, but 23.1 percent less than the 130,000 temporary workers added in 2019. The retailer will look for help from its On Demand team, a flexible workforce of nearly 45,000 associates who can pick up extra shifts. It also added more than 27,000 Drive Up stalls for additional curbside service, where shoppers this year can return unwanted items and order from Starbucks.
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Targets hopes partnering with Kendra Scott, the jewelry and accessories lifestyle brand, adding more Disney and Apple shop-in-shops, and bringing back Marks & Spencer’s gourmet food and beverage gifts will attract holiday spenders.
Over at Amazon, recruiters are looking for 250,000 seasonal employees, including 30,000 in California. A fulfillment or transportation employee who starts with us today will see a 13 percent increase in pay over the next three years—likely more, including our annual wage investments,” said John Felton, Amazon’s senior vice president of worldwide operations.
Walmart and Nordstrom are expected to reveal their holiday hiring plans soon. Last year, Walmart announced plans to recruit 40,000 seasonal workers and Nordstrom was looking for half of that number.
On the shipping side, the U.S. Postal Service plans to hire just 10,000 seasonal employees.
A report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based executive recruitment firm, said stiff labor costs and higher interest rates will weigh on seasonal hiring this year.
“With inflation slowing, companies, particularly retailers, won’t be able to pass increased labor costs to the consumer as easily. This could lead to more cuts, rather than more added positions, as evidenced by the increase in job cuts in this sector,” said Andrew Challenger, a workplace and labor expert and senior vice president with Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
The company’s analysis of non-seasonally adjusted Bureau of Labor Statistics data found that retailers reported 55,755 jobs cuts through August, up 524 percent from the 8,940 cuts in the sector through August 2022. It projects just 410,000 seasonal hires this year, the lowest since 2008.
This puts Macy’s and Target’s plans in line with Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ projections. Last year, retailers added 509,300 holiday jobs, a 27 percent decline from 701,400 in 2021.
In general, retail employment has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, but the 15.530 million people employed in retail last month represented a 1.2 percent decline from the 15.7135 million employed in August 2018. In contrast, peak retail employment came in August 2016, with 15.8099 million. The highest employment in retail for a single month was recorded in December 2016, with 16.3383 million.
“So far this season, seasonal hiring announcements are slow to occur,” said Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Slow seasonal hiring would be in line with estimates projecting a middle-of-the-road holiday. Deloitte, for one, pegs growth at 3 percent to 4.6 percent, far lower than last year’s 7.6 percent.
Bain & Co. forecasts 3 percent nominal growth in U.S. retail sales this holiday, the lowest since 2018. The global management firm said retailers can overcome a “humdrum holiday” by starting early before customers “run out of budget.” AlixPartners, a rival consultancy, also sees 3 percent at the low end but has the holiday tally coming in at 6 percent on the high end. According to its findings, 26 percent of consumers plan to spend less this year, or 38 percent for lower-income households. Inflation, higher interest rates, high credit-card debt and upcoming student loan payments will contribute to moderate spending overall.
Retailers that “offer value in categories where consumers are targeting cutbacks” are in a good position to win this holiday, said Bryan Eshelman, AlixPartners’ Americas leader, retail practice.
Categories expected to see lower sales include footwear (down 3 percent), toys (down 5 percent) and apparel (down 6 percent), while the ones to see even worse performance include home furnishings (down 15 percent) and accessories (down 13 percent).
Jungle Scout’s “Q3 Consumer Trends Report” found that 56 percent of consumers said inflation is affecting their holiday shopping plans. Shoppers are encouraged to spend less per person, buy discounted products and cut back on holiday decorations to stay on budget.
A Mastercard Spending Pulse survey is pegging U.S. holiday retail sales growth to rise 3.7 percent this year. “This holiday season, retailers will be vying for consumer dollars. With numerous choices and tightening budgets, you can anticipate shoppers to be increasingly selective and value-focused,” said Steve Sadove, senior advisor for Mastercard and former CEO and chairman of Saks Inc..
