It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas will be brighter this year for seasonal workers looking for extra cash and a choice of positions. A seamstress, barista and pressers at a custom sports apparel factory were among the jobs local companies recently put out a call for heading in to what’s predicted to be a robust shopping season.
Credit the rebound in the U.S. economy now driving employment gains and increased consumer spending, particularly a 16.6 percent growth in online commerce. That’s projected to boost overall demand for temporary workers through the end of this year.
Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas has forecast that national seasonal employment gains in retail alone could jump from 786,200 workers during the final three months of last year to more than 800,000 this season for the first time since 1999. CEO John Challenger pointed out last month that UPS’s plans to add 95,000 workers nationwide for the holiday rush, while not part of retail seasonal jobs numbers, represents “a strong indication” of increased consumer spending.
Because of lower unemployment rates in Indiana and Kentucky and a smaller labor pool, retailers, warehouses and some chain restaurants have been forced to boost hourly wages this year from averages of $8 and $9 an hour to $10 and higher, depending on the position. “The key is there’s a lot of competition because of (gains in) regular employment,” said Adam Clark, business consultant at WorkOne, Indiana’s employment office in New Albany, Ind.