Retailers are expected to hire between 585,000 and 625,000 seasonal workers during the 2012 holiday season, according to projections compiled by the National Retail Federation. That is comparable to the 607,500 seasonal employees retailers hired last year, NRF said in a statement.
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Those hirings are not limited to retail stores, either: NRF president and CEO Matthew Shay said in a statement that distribution center jobs and customer service positions are included in the estimates.
During a media briefing today, NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz said the hiring forecast is in line with the sales forecast (the NRF said today that holiday sales across all channels this year will increase 4.1% to $586.1 billion), with retailers keeping an eye on their inventory and employment needs to properly service their shoppers.
Macy’s said it plans to hire approximately 80,000 seasonal associates for its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide for the holiday season, an increase of about 2.5% over its 2011 holiday hirings.
Last week, Toys“R”Us announced plans to hire 45,000 seasonal employees to staff its stores and distribution centers, up from 40,000 seasonal workers last year.
The company said in a statement that an increased holiday workforce is needed to help fulfill orders resulting from the company’s newly enhanced omnichannel offerings such as “Buy Online, Pick Up In Store,” “Ship from Store” and “Ship to Store.”
In addition, Toys“R”Us said jobs are available at the company’s 10 distribution centers, which began hiring in July and will also continue through December.
Also, as reported in Multichannel Merchant last week, Walmart, Kohl’s and The Limited announced how many seasonal hires they would bring in for 2012.