Dive Brief:
- Interest in seasonal employment is rising ahead of the U.S. holiday rush, and inflation is a primary motivator for workers, according to the results of a survey by Indeed’s Indeed Flex sent to HR Dive in an email.
- Indeed Flex found that roughly 1 in 8 U.S. adults were proactively looking for seasonal work this year, while 14% planned to begin their search soon and 28% were considering doing so.
- More than one quarter of respondents said they were planning to work a seasonal job in order to shore up their incomes, while 18% said that doing so would help them put funds toward holiday gifts.
Dive Insight:
The nation’s top retailers have already announced plans to hire thousands of seasonal candidates this year. For example, Target last month said it would bring aboard 100,000 such workers, matching its hiring aspirations from the 2021 holidays, while Amazon announced last week that it would hire 150,000 U.S. employees to fill full-time, part-time and seasonal positions.
As with any hiring push, some employers are looking to pay and benefits to lure candidates. Strategies range from boosted minimum wages, flexible hours, employee discounts and even novelty “signing day” events on social media, Retail Dive reported.
Pay is still top of mind for candidates, however, particularly given the possibility of an economic downturn. The impact of inflation and broader economic distress may even be shrinking the number of employees looking to quit their jobs in the coming months, according to a recent Joblist survey.
“The holidays are always a busy time in the temporary jobs market, but this is especially true this year as rising living costs have millions of Americans considering ways to increase their income,” Stacey Lane, U.S. general manager at Indeed Flex, said in the company’s email statement.
Planned increases may not be enough to satisfy workers, however. A recent Robert Half survey of employees found that 55% of respondents said they felt underpaid despite overall compensation increases, while 48% said they would ask for a pay raise if they did not receive one by the end of this year. Employers can’t afford to lose sight of the nonmonetary aspects of retention, either, such as recognition, well-being and mental health.
