Nevada retailers projected to hire more than 7,000 workers for holiday season
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Mon, 10/21/2019 - 8:33am
Retailers in Nevada and nationwide have ramped up hiring campaigns in preparation for the 2019 holiday shopping season. In the Silver State, the Retail Association of Nevada estimates retailers will boost hiring by 7,100 new positions during the October-to-December holiday shopping period.
Seasonal positions include in-store employees as well as logistics and warehousing workers fulfilling online orders.
While some national estimates forecast a relatively slower seasonal hiring period, current economic conditions in Nevada suggest seasonal hiring in the state will outpace national trends.
“Unemployment is near a historic low and personal income is rising for Nevadans, positioning residents to be active consumers this holiday season. In preparation, Nevada retailers are continuing the longtime practice of investing in their workforce to provide an exceptional experience for customers in 2019,” said Bryan Wachter, Senior Vice President of Retail Association of Nevada, in a news release.
On a national level, career transitions firm Challenger Gray & Christmas projects seasonal hiring will remain stagnant or decline slightly this shopping season as some retailers fell short of seasonal hiring goals last year.
Across the nation, major retailers Target and Kohl’s announced seasonal hiring plans of 130,000 and 90,000 workers, respectively. Macy’s, Bloomingdales expect to add 80,000 positions while JCPenney announced plans to bring on 37,000 employees.
Gap announced 30,000 seasonal positions throughout its stores, including Banana Republic and Old Navy and Michael’s is seeking to match last year’s goal of 15,000.
Walmart and Amazon have yet to announce hiring plans for this year, however, Amazon recently announced plans to hire roughly 30,000 new permanent employees. Delivery companies UPS and FedEx will also boost hiring, with announced seasonal hires of 100,000 and 55,000 positions, respectively.
With the national unemployment rate currently at the lowest point since 2000, many major retailers have begun their seasonal hiring campaigns earlier than usual to recruit workers in the tight labor market.
Companies are also advertising employee discounts, competitive wages and other incentives to attract the workers they need. This trend has been apparent in Nevada’s retail industry, where average weekly wages have increased year-over-year for 26 of the last 27 months, including 1.8 percent in August of 2019.
Nevada’s economy continues to rank among the states with the best job growth trends, with the 3.0 percent year-over-year employment growth in August ranking second in the United States.
The state’s retail sector also remains on an upward trend heading into the three-month holiday shopping season, with trailing 12-month average employment exceeding the same period a year ago by nearly 1,000 jobs.
Retail sales for the months that include the holiday shopping season typically account for more than a quarter of annual retail sales. Through July 2019, statewide taxable retail sales for the prior 12 months reached a record $62.7 billion, up 5.8 percent from the previous year.
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