Dive Brief:
- Seasonal hiring accelerated in October, with seasonal job postings rising to 11% above 2024 levels but in ways that differ from previous years, according to Hiring Lab, Indeed’s research arm.
- A handful of sectors drove the spike but not retail, typically the backbone of holiday hiring, Hiring Lab economist Cory Stahle wrote in a Nov. 25 post. As of mid-November, seasonal retail postings essentially remained flat, up just 1% from last year, and seasonal sales roles were down 10% year over year, Stahle reported.
- The holiday hiring surge is coming instead from logistics-related roles, such as driving and stocking jobs, up 153% and 49%, respectively, from mid-November 2024, the data showed. “While some of this shift is likely attributable to the continued growth of e-commerce, some of it also appears to be driven by a focus on flexible staffing in an uncertain economic environment heading into 2026,” Stahle said.
Dive Insight:
The surge in seasonal job postings should be taken into perspective, Stahle noted. 2024 was the weakest seasonal hiring year in recent Indeed data, and the demand this year pales in comparison to 2020, 2021 and 2022, he pointed out.
Also, when combined with the overall weakness in job postings, the strong showing for driving and warehouse jobs suggests employers don’t want to be short-staffed during their busiest season, especially for logistics-heavy roles, but they’re hesitant about hiring for the long-term and are prioritizing short-term flexibility over long-term expansion, Stahle explained.
Job seekers looking for holiday employment in retail face a particularly tough time, according to an October report from talent acquisition software company iCIMS. Its data showed that retail averaged 43 applications per job opening in September, up from 35 in 2024, and higher than the overall labor market average of 34.
As businesses face looming tariffs and lingering inflation, many have continued to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of hiring large waves of seasonal workers, Challenger, Gray & Christmas Senior Vice President Andy Challenger observed in conjunction with a September report.
