Cedar Rapids, IA, USA  
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe Today
The Gazette The Gazette
The Gazette The Gazette
  • COVID-19
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food and Drink
  • Business
Digital Edition Digital Edition
Log in Log In My Account My Account
Subscribe
CLOSE
The Gazette
Subscribe
My Account
  • News
    • All News
    • Election 2020
    • Coronavirus
    • Business News
    • Community
    • Crime and Courts
    • Education
    • Government
    • Health
    • Nation and World
    • Time Machine
    • Search Archive

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Lee Hermiston
    • Erin Jordan
    • James Q. Lynch
    • Trish Mehaffey
    • Vanessa Miller
    • Kat Russell
    • Grace King
    • John Steppe
    • Gage Miskimen
    • Marissa Payne
  • Sports
    • All Sports
    • Iowa Hawkeyes
    • Hawkeye Football
    • Hawkeye Basketball
    • Prep Sports
    • Prep Volleyball
    • Prep Football
    • Prep Basketball
    • Prep Wrestling
    • Iowa State Cyclones
    • UNI Panthers
    • Small College Sports
    • Minor League Sports
    • Outdoors

    Sports Desk

    • Mike Hlas
    • Jeff Johnson
    • Jeff Linder
    • J.R. Ogden
    • K.J. Pilcher
    • Leah Vann
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Editorial Mission
    • Guest Columnists
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Political Cartoons
    • Staff Columnists
    • Staff Editorials
    • Submit a Letter or Column

    Our Columnists

    • Todd Dorman
    • Adam Sullivan
  • Food and Drink
    • All Food and Drink
    • Chew on This
    • Recipes
    • Restaurants
  • Business
    • All Business
    • Agriculture
    • Business Notes
    • Companies
    • Personal Finance
    • Economy
    • Employment
    • Energy
    • Manufacturing
    • Openings & Closures
    • Real Estate
    • Retail
    • Small Business
    • Transportation

    Our Journalists

    • Rod Boshart
    • Erin Jordan
    • John Steppe
  • Obituaries
    • All Obituaries
    • In Memory Of
    • Submit an Obituary
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • Daily News Podcast
    • Fact Checker
    • Hlastradamus Odds
    • Iowa Prep Sports
    • On Iowa
    • On Iowa Politics
    • On UNI
    • Pinning Combination
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Art
    • Books
    • Museums & Galleries
    • Music
    • Theater
    • Things To Do
  • Living
    • All Living
    • Health & Wellness
    • Home & Garden
    • Milestones
    • People & Places
    • Pets & Animals
    • Recreation
    • Religion & Belief
    • Travel

    Our Writers

    • Diana Nollen
  • Kids Gazette
    • See All
    • Kids Cooking Series
    • Kids Galleries
    • Printables
    • Activities
    • Articles
    • Submissions
    • Resources
  • Photos
    • All Photos and Videos
    • The Iowa Photo
    • Photo Store

    Our Photojournalists

    • Andy Abeyta
    • Liz Martin
    • Rebecca Miller
    • Jim Slosiarek
    • Gazette Visuals
  • Milestones
    • All Milestones
    • Anniversaries
    • Days To Remember
    • Engagements
    • Holidays
    • In Remembrance
    • New Arrivals
    • Thank Yous
    • Submit a Milestone
  • Data
    • Arrests
    • Building Permits
    • Interactive Maps & Charts
    • Salaries
  • Gazette Sites
    • Classifieds
    • Corridor Careers
    • Garage Sales
    • Gazette Gives Back
    • Gazette Rewards
    • Gazette Store
    • Green Gazette
    • HER
    • Iowa Wedding Experience
    • Holiday Light Finder
    • Hoopla
    • Iowa Ideas
    • Photo Store
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
    • About The Gazette
    • Archives
    • Article Removal
    • Business Directory
    • CR Arrest Database
    • Mobile Apps
    • Customer Care
    • Order Back Issues
    • Privacy Policies
    • Puzzle Answers
    • Sponsorship Requests
    • Submit a Letter
    • Weather
  • Digital Edition
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast
Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
Log out

FOLLOW US

The Gazette
  • News
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Food and Drink
  • Business
  • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
  • Entertainment
  • Living
  • Kids Gazette
  • Photos
  • Milestones
  • Data
  • Gazette Sites
  • Special Events
  • Special Sections
  • Other
  • Digital Edition
  • All News
  • Election 2020
  • Coronavirus
  • Business News
  • Community
  • Crime and Courts
  • Education
  • Government
  • Health
  • Nation and World
  • Time Machine
  • Search Archive

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Lee Hermiston
  • Erin Jordan
  • James Q. Lynch
  • Trish Mehaffey
  • Vanessa Miller
  • Kat Russell
  • Grace King
  • John Steppe
  • Gage Miskimen
  • Marissa Payne
  • All Sports
  • Iowa Hawkeyes
  • Hawkeye Football
  • Hawkeye Basketball
  • Prep Sports
  • Prep Volleyball
  • Prep Football
  • Prep Basketball
  • Prep Wrestling
  • Iowa State Cyclones
  • UNI Panthers
  • Small College Sports
  • Minor League Sports
  • Outdoors

Sports Desk

  • Mike Hlas
  • Jeff Johnson
  • Jeff Linder
  • J.R. Ogden
  • K.J. Pilcher
  • Leah Vann
  • All Opinion
  • Editorial Mission
  • Guest Columnists
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Political Cartoons
  • Staff Columnists
  • Staff Editorials
  • Submit a Letter or Column

Our Columnists

  • Todd Dorman
  • Adam Sullivan
  • All Food and Drink
  • Chew on This
  • Recipes
  • Restaurants
  • All Business
  • Agriculture
  • Business Notes
  • Companies
  • Personal Finance
  • Economy
  • Employment
  • Energy
  • Manufacturing
  • Openings & Closures
  • Real Estate
  • Retail
  • Small Business
  • Transportation

Our Journalists

  • Rod Boshart
  • Erin Jordan
  • John Steppe
  • All Obituaries
  • In Memory Of
  • Submit an Obituary
  • All Podcasts
  • Daily News Podcast
  • Fact Checker
  • Hlastradamus Odds
  • Iowa Prep Sports
  • On Iowa
  • On Iowa Politics
  • On UNI
  • Pinning Combination
  • All Entertainment
  • Art
  • Books
  • Museums & Galleries
  • Music
  • Theater
  • Things To Do
  • All Living
  • Health & Wellness
  • Home & Garden
  • Milestones
  • People & Places
  • Pets & Animals
  • Recreation
  • Religion & Belief
  • Travel

Our Writers

  • Diana Nollen
  • See All
  • Kids Cooking Series
  • Kids Galleries
  • Printables
  • Activities
  • Articles
  • Submissions
  • Resources
  • All Photos and Videos
  • The Iowa Photo
  • Photo Store

Our Photojournalists

  • Andy Abeyta
  • Liz Martin
  • Rebecca Miller
  • Jim Slosiarek
  • Gazette Visuals
  • All Milestones
  • Anniversaries
  • Days To Remember
  • Engagements
  • Holidays
  • In Remembrance
  • New Arrivals
  • Thank Yous
  • Submit a Milestone
  • Arrests
  • Building Permits
  • Interactive Maps & Charts
  • Salaries
  • Classifieds
  • Corridor Careers
  • Garage Sales
  • Gazette Gives Back
  • Gazette Rewards
  • Gazette Store
  • Green Gazette
  • HER
  • Iowa Wedding Experience
  • Holiday Light Finder
  • Hoopla
  • Iowa Ideas
  • Photo Store
  • About The Gazette
  • Archives
  • Article Removal
  • Business Directory
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Mobile Apps
  • Customer Care
  • Order Back Issues
  • Privacy Policies
  • Puzzle Answers
  • Sponsorship Requests
  • Submit a Letter
  • Weather
Daily News PodcastDaily News Podcast Daily NewslettersDaily Newsletters
LOG OUT

FOLLOW US

More Stories

University of Iowa medical expert takes questions on J &…

Iowa orders pause on Johnson & Johnson vaccine

Marion school board votes 5-2 to no longer consider ’Mavericks’

Cedar Rapids clinic to receive federal COVID-19 allocation starting this…

Public funeral in Independence planned Friday for slain Iowa trooper…

'A way to start over again’: Collaboration aims to replant…

House GOP calls for freezing funding for ‘bloated’ regents universities

Ernst bill bans meat bans

Home / News

Holiday retail forecast: More sales, more hiring

Detroit Free Press Oct. 17, 2017 1:10 pm Updated: Oct. 17, 2017 1:10 pm
Holiday retail forecast: More sales, more hiring

Despite department store woes, national retailers have started to seek seasonal help - and at levels close to those seen last year, according to some estimates.

Many of the seasonal jobs are focused on stocking additional inventory, customer service, and helping in shipping and distribution centers, an area that is growing as online holiday sales increase.

The jobs are temporary, and many are part-time.

'The competition among major big-box retailers will incentivize consumers to spend more this holiday season,” said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, a Chicago-based outplacement firm. 'These stores will need to add staff in order to meet demand.”

The firm said that last year's seasonal employment was about 641,000 - the lowest since 324,900 retail workers were hired in 2008. The number of hires in 2016 was nearly 10 percent lower than the year before, when retailers added 708,800 jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

According to the firm, retailers have announced more than 6,000 store closures and 67,000 job cuts in the first eight months of the year. Despite these numbers, the firm said retailers still projected the highest number of hiring announcements for any industry, with more than 248,000.

Since 2012, holiday hiring announcements have averaged 604,000 per year, according to Challenger.

Part of what is driving the hires, the firm said, is a need for more customer-service, warehouse and logistics jobs as retailers shift their business models to more online sales.

Retail holiday sales are forecast by consulting firm Deloitte to increase $1.04 trillion to $1.05 trillion, 4 percent to 4.5 percent more than last year's holiday shopping season.

It also expects an 18 percent to 21 percent increase in e-commerce sales of $111 billion to $114 billion in 2017 compared with 2016.

The reason: Consumer confidence is high, the labor market is strong and people have been saving money, the firm said.

'Sentiment and spending indicators are firing on all cylinders, but the question is: How will retailers respond, given the profound disruption across the industry?” said Rod Sides, vice chairman at Deloitte. 'The good news is retail is thriving.”

Eight in 10 Americans now shop online, according to Pew Research, a Washington think tank.

JCPenney said it is hiring 40,000 people nationally in about 875 stores. As an added benefit, the chain said it will give its workers a 25 percent discount on merchandise and flexible schedules. Candidates can apply online at jcpcareers.com or at store kiosks.

In addition, Target has announced it will hire 100,000 seasonal positions for the holidays, up from the 70,000 in-store workers and 7,500 fulfillment and warehouse workers announced last year. Target also indicated it was lowering prices in all stores, a response to Amazon.com and Wal-Mart's price-slashing.

Michaels has announced 15,000 holiday jobs, and 1-800-Flowers an additional 8,000 workers.

Macy's said it would hire about 80,000 seasonal workers for positions in its stores, call centers, distribution centers and warehouses. Of those jobs, the company said about 18,000 - 3,000 more than the year before - would be in positions related to online and other direct-to-shopper areas.

'As holiday shopping habits turn virtual, retailers are responding by hiring more warehouse and transport workers,” Challenger said. 'While retail hiring has fallen over the last couple years, major announcements indicate workers will still be needed for customer-facing positions, as retailers attempt to give consumers an experience they cannot receive online.”

Bloomberg Workers fill bins with items at Toys ‘R' Us in New York City.

Trending

  • University of Iowa presidential finalist Osofsky tackles questions of free…

    Vanessa Miller

  • Gazette Daily News Podcast, April 13

    Stephen Schmidt

  • Iowa City West tennis coach Mitch Gross closing in on…

    By Mike Condon

  • Iowa City man faces life in prison for sexually abusing…

    Trish Mehaffey

  • Ramadan starts tonight. An eighth-grader explains what it’s like to…

    Grace King

Give us feedback

We work hard to provide fair, accurate coverage because we value your trust. If you find an error or omission in our reporting, please tell us here.

Submit a story idea

Do you have a story idea that we should look into? Please tell us here.

Related Stories

Holiday retail forecast: More sales, more hiring

Holiday retail forecast: More sales, more hiring

Detroit Free Press News Oct. 17, 2017 1:10 pm

Federal Reserve hikes interest rates

Federal Reserve hikes interest rates

Washington Post News Dec. 14, 2016 1:38 pm

New Eastern Iowa grocery stores risk market saturation

New Eastern Iowa grocery stores risk market saturation

Erin Jordan News Dec. 17, 2016 8:11 am

News

Ernst bill bans meat bans

Ernst bill bans meat bans

Erin Murphy

Agriculture News 19m ago

Iowa City schools relaxing coronavirus quarantine practices after almost 1,000…

Iowa City schools relaxing coronavirus quarantine practices after almost 1,000…

Grace King

K-12 Education 44m ago

Iowa Senate wants Department of Public Safety cold case unit

Iowa Senate wants Department of Public Safety cold case unit

Rod Boshart

Government & Politics 90m ago

Senate boosts higher education spending

Senate boosts higher education spending

Rod Boshart

State Government 90m ago

Business

200,000-square-foot-facility to break ground near Cedar Rapids airport

200,000-square-foot-facility to break ground near Cedar Rapids airport

John Steppe

Business News Apr. 13, 2021 4:30 pm

COBRA free for six months

COBRA free for six months

Los Angeles Times

Business News Apr. 13, 2021 3:17 pm

Court replaces two judges on business court

Court replaces two judges on business court

Trish Mehaffey

Crime and Courts Apr. 12, 2021 3:18 pm

Business Notes: April 11, 2021

Business Notes: April 11, 2021

Business News Apr. 8, 2021 2:53 pm

Consumers & Personal Finance

Amazon.com to begin collecting Iowa sales tax Sunday

Amazon.com to begin collecting Iowa sales tax Sunday

George C. Ford

News Dec. 30, 2016 10:50 am

Many Eastern Iowa retailers opening doors on Thanksgiving

Many Eastern Iowa retailers opening doors on Thanksgiving

George C. Ford

News Nov. 22, 2016 1:46 pm

Should you pay airline for the bag it misplaced? U.S.…

Should you pay airline for the bag it misplaced? U.S.…

By Alan Levin and Michael Sasso, Bloomberg

News Oct. 19, 2016 12:04 pm

Alliant Energy apologizes for high energy bills, but says they’re…

Alliant Energy apologizes for high energy bills, but says they’re…

News Oct. 3, 2016 4:58 pm

Sports

Iowa football takeaways: Tory Taylor’s quest, Spencer Petras’ accuracy and…

Iowa football takeaways: Tory Taylor’s quest, Spencer Petras’ accuracy and…

Leah Vann

Hawkeye Football 3h ago

Kirkwood sweeps way into national volleyball quarterfinals

Kirkwood sweeps way into national volleyball quarterfinals

K.J. Pilcher

Sports 3h ago

At Lisbon, a track program, then a track ... and…

At Lisbon, a track program, then a track ... and…

Jeff Linder

High School Track and Field 4h ago

Bowling alleys, like universities, are melting pots

Bowling alleys, like universities, are melting pots

Mike Hlas

Iowa Hawkeyes Apr. 13, 2021 11:16 am

FOLLOW US

The Gazette is Iowa’s independent, employee-owned source for local, state, and national news coverage.

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility

Contact Us

  • 116 3rd St SE
    Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
  • customercare@thegazette.com
  • (319) 398-8333
  • Live Chat

Links

  • Puzzle Answers
  • CR Arrest Database
  • Article Removal Request
  • Archives
  • Green Gazette
  • Corridor Careers Jobs
  • Work at The Gazette
  • Customer Care

© 2021 The Gazette

All Rights Reserved.

  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy
  • Web Accessibility
Folience A Folience Company