Macy’s to Hire 80,000 Seasonal Workers This Year
Macy's plans to hire 80,000 seasonal workers for positions at its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide for the 2018 holiday season, according to a company press release. Macy’s, which is forecasting a strong holiday shopping season, will staff 23,500 positions at its fulfillment centers to help with online orders, an increase of 5,500 jobs from 2017. The retailer will hire 1,500 people to work at its call centers for customer service, and 1,000 people to support the 92nd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Santalands and other holiday events. Macy's will offer this year's seasonal workers the chance to be eligible for bonuses if certain sales targets are met, as the company aims to get back to same-store sales growth by year-end.
Total Retail's Take: Macy's, like its peers in the retail industry, has been investing heavily in its workers as the labor market in the U.S. remains tight. Companies are competing more and more for the best talent, as tech giants like Amazon.com and Alphabet are wooing younger workers with new perks. For example, Kohl's kicked off its application process for seasonal jobs at more than 300 of its 1,100 stores across the U.S. in June, earlier than ever before, despite the fact that jobs for Kohl's back-to-school, fall and holiday seasons were to begin in August. Kohl's also told prospective workers they would receive competitive wages, a weekly pay schedule, an immediate 15 percent Kohl’s discount — which can be stacked with other applicable Kohl’s coupons — and special '"associate shop days" for even more savings. All of this hiring indicates that retailers are expecting a successful holiday season. And they should. In August, the National Retail Federation increased its retail sales forecast for 2018, saying sales are expected to increase a minimum of 4.5 percent over 2017 rather than the 3.8 percent to 4.4 percent range forecast earlier this year.
