Christmas ornaments are ready to be put out for purchase at the Barn on Tuesday, October 20, 2015.Top five for shoppers
Most purchased gifts for holidays: 1. Gift cards 2. Electronics 3. Apparel and footwear 4. Toys and games 5. Food related items (popcorn, food baskets, etc.) Source: International Council of Shopping Centers
Buford Blades hopes to land a job at Amazon's Chattanooga distribution facility until he can get back to work on oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.
"I'm looking for something to do until I go back," he said Tuesday outside the Integrity Staffing office at Lee Highway and Highway 153.
Amazon announced Tuesday it will add 100,000 seasonal positions across its U.S. network of fulfillment and sorting centers this holiday season, including thousands in Tennessee. The national hiring figure is up from 80,000 people last year.
Amazon stands out among retailers, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago business consulting firm, because it's an example of online gaining while brick-and-mortar holiday hiring is flat.
For example, Wal-Mart will hire 60,000 holiday employees, Target about 70,000 and Macy's 85,000, which are all about the same as last year. Kohl's, J.C. Penney and Toys R Us are hiring fewer, while GameStop is hiring about 12 percent more workers.
"It used to be that the bulk of holiday hires would be in customer-facing positions on the sales floor and behind the cash register," said Challenger, Gray & Christmas CEO said John Challenger. "Now, as more and more shopping is completed online, the holiday hiring is shifting away from stores and into the warehouses."
Both Google and Amazon are experimenting with one-hour delivery in certain markets, Challenger said, which he predicts will further erode one of brick-and-mortar stores' advantages over online shopping.
Permanent jobs can result
UPS and FedEx also are hiring for the holidays.
"We certainly do need help with our peak season approaching," UPS spokesman Dan McMackin said. "We have a total of 107 [Chattanooga] job openings for seasonal work, and we need a total of 1,800 for the whole state of Tennessee. Those jobs include drivers, driver helpers and part-time package handlers. Wages range from $10.10 an hour to $18.75. We are hiring immediately and applicants must apply online at www.upsjobs.com."
"Many of our seasonal hires are invited back after the holidays, and as we promote almost strictly from within, a permanent position can be a stepping stone to a career," McMackin said. "I started out loading trucks during the holidays 37 years ago. And our CEO also started out loading trucks part-time."
FedEx expects to add more than 55,000 seasonal positions throughout its worldwide network of 300,000 employees during the holidays this year, FedEx spokeswoman Connie Avery said. Hiring is already underway, she said, for such positions as package handlers, drivers, couriers and other support positions,
"Based on growth expectations and network expansion, many of these seasonal workers will have the opportunity to continue working with us after the holidays," she said.
Chattanoogans seeking work should check the company's website, Avery said.
"FedEx.com is where folks need to go," she said.
Brick-and-mortar not dead yet
The death of brick-and-mortar retailers is greatly exaggerated, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, which says a recent consumer survey shows that 90 percent of Americans are planning holiday purchases this season, up from 82 percent last year - and that 95 percent intend to make a purchase in a physical store.
ICSC forecasts overall year-over-year growth of 3.3 percent in retail sales this holiday season and that shoppers will spend an average of $702.
Holiday hiring began in August at The Barn Nursery, a popular Chattanooga nursery and garden center along Interstate 24 near the 4th Avenue exit.
Business picks up then, because people start gardening once the heat of summer is over, the business' General Manager Sara Melton said. The new hires stay on for the holiday season.
"Our season starts in late August, early September because of the gardening aspect," Melton said. "These people transition into the Christmas season."
HoneyBaked Ham of Chattanooga about a week ago started to hire roughly 50 to 60 temporary worker who apply at the Gunbarrel Road store for such tasks as running the counter, driving trucks and glazing and slicing the popular holiday food.
"We do 70 percent of yearly sales in November and December," the store's General Manager John Lane. "I only keep about six or seven employees year-round."
Amazon job fair
Amazon spokesman Nina Lindsey said many of the Tennessee seasonal jobs will be in Chattanooga and at the online retailer's Charleston, Tenn., center.
The company is planning a job fair in Chattanooga on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 5600 Brainerd Road, she said.
Chattanooga-based shopping center operator CBL & Associates Properties Inc. reported that many national retailers have started ramping up hiring efforts to prepare for the holidays and extended shopping hours.
"We've seen a definite increase in the number of retailer job opportunities posted to CBL mall websites across our portfolio," said Stacey Keating, a spokesman for the company that owns both Hamilton Place mall and Northgate Mall in Chattanooga.
She said many shopping centers are hosting and promoting "virtual job fairs" to help attract candidates in order to satisfy the need for seasonal help.
"I think we'll continue to see an increase in the available opportunities well into November," Keating said.
Other retailers in the area are hiring workers through job fairs.
Calhoun Premium Outlets in Calhoun, Ga. is conducting a holiday job fair today from 3-7 p.m. in suite 10 next to Luii's in the Interstate 75 center. On-site interviews for both seasonal and permanent positions will be conducted for 10 stores in the outlet center. Candidates are encouraged to bring their resume, as each store will accept applications and conduct on-site interviews.
Amazon already hires 900 in Chattanooga
Courtney Sims of Chattanooga said outside the Integrity Staffing office that he wants an Amazon job to help with Christmas spending and to pay child support.
Already this year, Amazon has hired about 900 more full-time employees for its Chattanooga distribution center, putting its headcount there at about 3,000. The company has five fulfillment centers in Tennessee.
Amazon has more than 90,000 full-time employees across its more than 50 fulfillment centers and 20 sorting centers in the U.S. To meet customer demand and prepare for the 2015 holiday season, Amazon has hired over 25,000 full-time employees since August.
"We've hired more than 25,000 full-time associates across the U.S. in recent months and we're looking forward to adding 100,000 seasonal employees for the upcoming holiday season," said Mike Roth, Amazon's vice president of North America operations.
Candidates interested in seasonal positions can learn more and apply online at www.workatamazonfulfillment.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.