Holiday Hiring Decisions are Already Being Made

This Year’s Holiday Hires Have Better than Average Shot of Securing a Job Year-Round

An autumn chill in the air and the approaching holidays mean seasonal hiring is just around the corner. And some Express Employment Professionals offices expect this season to be as strong, or even stronger, than last year.

For market watchers, holiday hiring can be a measure of the health of the economy. But for workers, it can serve two other important purposes. First, it gives people looking for non-traditional job opportunities a chance to earn a paycheck. Second, it gives those looking for longer-term full-time work a chance to get noticed.

Holiday Hiring Trends
The Wall Street Journal recently proclaimed, “Retailers and logistics companies are starting early to recruit seasonal workers.”

Unemployment is low and the economy is in good health, so there’s a shrinking pool for seasonal workers, even as demand remains high.

A recent survey of 573 businesses from Express confirms that business owners are anticipating increased demand for general labor (34 percent), skilled labor (24 percent) and administrative/office clerical employees (21 percent).

Successful Seasonal Workers Exceed Expectations
Just because seasonal work is temporary doesn’t mean it comes without high expectations.

“Seasonal work can really be like an extended interview,” said Bob Funk, CEO of Express, and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. “Holiday workers can end up being a great talent pool for employers looking to expand their full-time workforce even after the decorations have come down and the new year has rolled around. With unemployment so low right now, and so many companies struggling to find good full-time talent, I predict this year’s holiday hires have a better than average shot of leveraging their experience to secure a regular job year-round.”

The survey of 573 businesses, which are current and former clients of Express Employment Professionals, was conducted in August 2017 to gauge respondents’ expectations for the fourth quarter of 2017. Previous surveys were conducted to cover hiring trends of the quarters indicated.

 

, ,

No comments yet.

Leave a Reply