Holiday hiring
Monster says retailers are projected to make more than 700,000 holiday hires this season. Among entities hiring big numbers are:› Amazon: 120,000› UPS: 95,000› Macy’s: 83,000› Kohl’s: 69,000› FedEx: 50,000› U.S. Postal Service: 35,000-40,000Source: Monster
Amazon is hiring to fill 5,000 seasonal jobs for its pair of Southeast Tennessee distribution centers as the company readies to meet holiday shopper demand.
“In the state of Tennessee, we are hiring thousands of seasonal employees. In your area alone, we are hiring for 5,000 seasonal positions,” said company spokeswoman Nina Lindsey on Thursday.
Amazon already employs more than 4,500 full-time employees at its Chattanooga and Charleston, Tenn., fulfillment centers and its seasonal hiring goal could push total employment to upwards of 10,000 this Christmas season.
Nationwide, the nation’s No. 1 Internet retailer is creating more than 120,000 seasonal posts across its network of fulfillment centers and other sites during the period.
That national number is up from 100,000 positions last year and 80,000 two years ago.
Last year, more than 14,000 seasonal positions nationwide were transitioned to regular, full-time roles after the holidays and the company expects to increase that number this year, according to Amazon.
“This is our favorite time of year,” said Mike Roth, Amazon vice president of global customer fulfillment, in a statement. “We love serving customers during the busy holiday season and we’re excited to bring on more than 120,000 seasonal employees this year to support growing customer demand.”
Mark Campbell, who owns the Manpower staffing franchise in Chattanooga, said that hiring already is tight in the area, and he doesn’t see that letting up anytime soon.
“Look at the unemployment figure. It’s lower than last year. It’s tightened down the labor market,” he said. The jobless rate in Hamilton County was 5 percent in August.
Campbell said that while Chattanooga is blessed to see “really good” employment growth, the area also is experiencing wage inflation.
“We’re definitely seeing wages go up because of the shortage in the number of employees the market needs,” he said.
Amazon is advertising starting jobs paying up to $12.25 per hour at its local distribution centers. To attract candidates, the company says it’s holding “big and bold hiring events” every Wednesday at its Charleston center from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Also, every day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., job-seekers can apply in person in Chattanooga at 6227 Lee Highway, Suite A. In Cleveland, people also can go to Bradley Square Mall Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
The National Retail Federation is projecting that retailers are expected to hire from 640,000 to 690,000 seasonal workers for the holidays. That’s in line with last year’s 675,300 holiday slots, it said.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.