Companies Are Hiring A Lot Of Employees For The Holiday Season!
By @TobyChilliShow
The holiday hiring season is in full swing, and the big red bow on it is the hope of up to $15 an hour – and maybe even a chance to win a $5,000 trip to New York City or Miami.
The odds are good that if you go shopping in the next few weeks, you'll spot a jobs fair in the store or hear about holiday job openings. Yes, it's only October, but the holidays will be highly competitive when it comes to hiring extra help.
What's good to hear is that many workers who pick up holiday jobs could see better wages, more attractive in-store discounts and maybe even a chance to win a trip to New York City or $500 gift cards this holiday season.
In the next week or so, major retailers will be holding holiday hiring fairs. They include:
Target will host aholiday hiring event Oct. 12-14 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day at its stores. "You can meet with store leaders. You can interview on the spot," said Angie Thompson, a spokesperson for Target in Minneapolis. Candidates can apply in advance atTargetSeasonalJobs.com.
J.C. Penney will hold its second annual hiring day event Oct. 16 from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at its stores to fill 1,200 seasonal jobs in Michigan. See jcpcareers.combefore the event to apply onlinefirst before any in-store interviews. Applicants also can apply at in-store kiosks prior to attending the event.
Best Buy is running a holiday jobs fair in its stores on Oct. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with interviews taking place the same day.
Macy'sis holding a holiday hiring event on Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at its stores, as well as its call centers and distribution and fulfillment centers. Candidates are encouraged to submit applications online prior to the hiring events by visiting macysJOBS.comor bloomingdalesJOBS.com.
Holiday shopping is expected to be brisk online, as well as in traditional stores at the mall.
Retailers nationwide are expected to hire between 585,000 and 650,000 temporary workers this holiday season, up from last year’s 582,500, according to the industry trade group's forecast.
Target plans to hire 120,000 workers this holiday season, up 20 percent from a year ago.
Macy's is planning to hire 80,000 people throughout the company, which is about the same as last year.
Kohl’s said it will hire 90,000 seasonal associates to work at more than 1,100 stores, nine distribution centers, five e-commerce fulfillment centers and credit centers nationwide, a slight increase from last year.
Walmart is promising at least $11 an hour. Starting wages vary by location. But Walmart is not promoting any holiday job fairs or the like to hire thousands of seasonal workers.
Instead, Walmart's practice for the past two years has been to give more holiday hours to its current employees.
At Target, all team members hired after Sept. 16 will begin at a $12 an hour minimum wage. Target is aiming to boost its minimum wage to $15 an hour by the end of 2020.
Target also initiated a chance for one hourly team member at each of the company's more than 1,800 stores and its 39 distribution centers across the country to win a $500 holiday gift card, plus the chance to donate $500 to the local community organization of their choice. The "work.win.give" appreciation program involves selecting the winners at random and will involve more than $2 million in gift cards and donations.
Other stores are adding some holiday bling, too.
This year, J.C. Penney is introducing prizes for employees, such as $5,000 trips to New York City, Miami and Banff, Alberta, Canada. Three employees have a chance to win those trips that cover lodging, airfare and entertainment. Five other lucky employees could win a prize package worth $5,000 – each with a different theme.
The catch: All hourly associates and seasonal associates in the J.C. Penney stores, supply chain and its call centers are eligible to win – if they remain with the company through Dec. 29.