COVID's Impact on Seasonal Hiring
The Big Shift in Retail Jobs

"The pandemic has thrown typical holiday hiring patterns off"

In-store hiring is down as more roles have shifted to logistics, e-commerce and novel positions that have emerged as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps more surprising, job-seeker interest is also down, even though unemployment is higher than it's been in years.

It's still uncertain exactly how the COVID-19 pandemic will reshape holiday hiring, but it seems that the public health crisis is exacerbating a trend that was already in motion: Online shopping is becoming a larger share of the retail experience, causing seasonal hiring to move from stores to warehouses and call centers.

Retailers, particularly those with a strong online shopping infrastructure, are anticipating high demand but are struggling to figure out how many hires will be made to accommodate holiday sales."

Job postings on Indeed were down 11 percent in late September, when seasonal hiring should be picking up.

There's also been a shift this year from temporary seasonal jobs to regular year-round full- or part-time positions, falling from 2019 when 54 percent of seasonal jobs were temporary to 37 percent this year. Boosting permanent headcount as they recover from the initial coronavirus shock," Konkel said.

The public health crisis has forced companies to make changes to their workplaces and workforces, even creating new roles dedicated to tasks like curbside pickup, sanitizing shelves and checking temperatures at the door.

Findings from a recent survey of 300 retailers employing over 5,000 workers, conducted by the Workforce Institute at UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group), show that retailers are taking steps to ensure employee and customer safety:

● 83 percent will offer curbside options this season, compared to just 44 percent in 2019 and 34 percent in 2018.

● 83 percent will require employees and customers to wear masks.

● 80 percent will clean more frequently.

● 73 percent will enforce social distancing.

● 67 percent will provide personal protective equipment for staff.

● 55 percent will conduct employee health screenings before each shift.

● 50 percent will monitor and limit store occupancy.

● 90 percent said it's important that their stores implement a contact tracing program before the holiday season begins, but only about half say it's likely this will happen on time.

The number of people searching for seasonal work is down 38 percent from last year, according to Indeed. "It seems counterintuitive that during a time of high unemployment, job seekers aren't as eager for seasonal jobs as in the past," Konkel said. "But, as with most trends these days, coronavirus is the reason." shrm.org