Kohl’s, a department store with multiple locations across metro Atlanta, plans to hire an average of 50 seasonal workers at each store for the upcoming holidays.
The chain, which has 27 locations in metro Atlanta and 35 in the state, plans to hire more than 69,000 workers nationwide in the coming months, up from around 67,000 last year.
Kohl’s is the latest major retailer to announce its hiring plans:
* Target plans to hire 70,000 workers this year, about the same number the discount retailer added last year.
* Toys R Us said it plans to hire 40,000 seasonal workers this year, lower compared with last year, but this time around workers will be able to log more hours.
Retailers aren't the only ones beefing up their payrolls. Sandy Springs-based UPS, a major shipper of packages during the holidays given consumers' increasing reliance on online shopping, announced earlier this week that it will hire 90,000 to 95,000 seasonal workers. FedEx plans to add about 5,000 to handle the holiday package rush.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based outplacement consultancy, expects seasonal employment gains to be about the same as last year’s, when retailers added 755,000 to their payrolls from October through December. Last year’s results were 4 percent lower than the previous year’s.
Low gas prices, steady job gains and bigger paychecks are expected to benefit holiday retail sales this year, but increased hiring earlier this year may mean less hiring for the holidays, John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in releasing the company’s annual holiday hiring report.
Challenger suggests job seekers look beyond traditional openings, such as sales, and look beyond retailers.
“Some of the best opportunities could be in the backroom, handling incoming and outgoing shipments,” Challenger said. “There are also many seasonal job opportunities that are unrelated to holiday shopping. Restaurants, caterers, movie theaters, and other entertainment and leisure venues tend to see increased business during the holidays. These establishments are also need extra help to handle that increase.”
Kohl’s said it hopes to fill its positions by mid-November. Many of the jobs are connected with orders filled through Kohls.com. with positions at the company’s distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers.
In-store positions at the retailer’s 1,166 locations nationwide include help with freight processing and customer service on the sales floor and at checkout.
For information about employment opportunities with Kohl's, visit www.KohlsCareers.com.
About the Author
