Amazon to keep US holiday hiring steady at 1.2 lakh workers

Shoppers this year will shell out more on holiday gifting, according to industry surveys, buoyed by a labour market that is churning out more jobs every month, rising home prices and stock markets hovering at record highs. Unemployment rates fell to a more than 16-1/2-year low of 4.2 percent and annual wage growth accelerated to 2.9 percent in September, suggesting that retailers are wary of hiring more seasonal workers as it could boost labour costs.

Top US department store chain Macy’s Inc announced plans to hire 3,000 fewer workers this year, in part due to store closures, while Kohl’s Corp said it would hire the same number of people it did as last year. But both retailers boosted seasonal hiring for their distribution centers and warehouses, as they seek to be better prepared for a spike in online order volumes during the holidays. 

Department store operator Target Corp, however, was an outlier, saying it plans to employ 43 percent more temporary workers this year than last year as its turnaround efforts take hold. Amazon on Thursday said the seasonal jobs will be spread out over more than 75 fulfilment centers countrywide to help pick, pack and ship holiday orders. It also said it expects to convert thousands of these positions to full-time roles. 

“Amazon hiring same number of workers as last year reflects their efficiency and not necessarily the cost of hiring workers,” D.A. Davidson analyst Thomas Forte said.