By Jennifer Smith
Shoppers like to complain that holiday decorations appear
earlier and earlier. This year, so are the job ads.
The holiday hiring binge is accelerating for retailers such as
Target Corp. and Macy's Inc., which hire thousands of workers to
process surging online orders. E-commerce sites double or even
quadruple their warehouse staff. Online giant Amazon.com Inc. adds
to the hiring frenzy, as do logistics companies and
package-delivery services like United Parcel Service Inc. and FedEx
Corp. Some firms posted their first holiday job listings as early
as July.
But with unemployment at near-record lows, employers are going
the extra mile to ensure they have enough workers come December.
Companies are bumping up pay, loosening disciplinary policies and
even operating bus routes.
"It's the tightest labor market we've ever seen," said Sean
McCartney, executive vice president of operation services at
Radial, which handles online orders for e-commerce companies and
national chains such as Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. and Aéropostale
Inc.
Some big retailers are doing the bulk of their hiring in
warehouses that handle online orders, a sign they expect more
shoppers to visit their websites instead of stores. Last year,
online retail sales jumped 12.6% in November and December, compared
with a 7% decline at department stores, according to the National
Retail Federation.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to bring on about 5,000 seasonal
workers for its e-commerce operations. The discounter isn't hiring
extra help at its stores, where it plans to give existing employees
more hours.
Macy's plans to add 18,000 seasonal workers at distribution
centers that replenish store merchandise and fulfill online orders
-- a 20% boost compared with last year. Overall seasonal hiring is
down slightly at the retailer, which closed dozens of stores after
disappointing sales in 2016.
Radial is bringing on 27,000-plus seasonal workers, 35% more
than last year. The company began advertising for some jobs in
July, about a month earlier than usual. It's offering more flexible
schedules, including shorter shifts that allow working parents to
clock in between school drop-off and pickup.
Radial is also planning to provide bus service for employees in
some rural locations, such as central Kentucky, and in some
"hypercompetitive" East Coast markets, Mr. McCartney said.
XPO Logistics Inc., whose e-commerce clients include Inditex
SA's Zara, plans to add 6,000 seasonal workers, up 20% from last
year.
Companies are racing to open up warehouses within easy reach of
millions of consumers who expect to get e-commerce orders in two
days or less. This year Amazon alone announced plans for more than
two dozen new U.S. fulfillment centers.
Amazon's arrival can shake up local warehouse labor markets
because the retailer often pays better than rivals, offering
between $11 to $14 an hour for full-time warehouse workers,
depending on the location.
In Cranbury Township, a New Jersey town near Interstate 95,
help-wanted ads for warehouse workers are posted along roadsides
and at local businesses. Amazon is opening a 900,000-square-foot
fulfillment center there, joining nearby facilities serving
Wayfair.com, Home Depot Inc., Petco Animal Supplies Inc. and Crate
and Barrel, among others. "It's your time, Cranbury, NJ," reads one
Amazon flier.
"There's a lot of warehouses here.... There's a lot of trucks,"
said Paul Corneetz, 70 years old, who lives in neighboring Monroe
Township. "Even ads on the turnpike for distribution centers."
Amazon hasn't announced its seasonal hiring plans. Last month,
the company held a nationwide job fair to fill 50,000 positions,
mostly at fulfillment centers.
"I don't think it's a coincidence that the nationwide hire day
coincided with the extreme front-end of peak-season hiring," said
Doug Hammond, president of in-house services for Randstad US, a
subsidiary of Dutch recruiting firm Randstad Holding NV. "They want
to secure that labor."
This year average pay for entry-level warehouse workers is
expected to hit $13.68 an hour during peak season, up 10% compared
with nonpeak wages and a nearly 5% increase from 2016, according to
logistics staffing firm ProLogistix.
UPS began recruiting a few weeks earlier than usual and is
providing bus service for seasonal workers in markets such as
Chicago, Boston, Seattle, and Louisville, Ky., where labor
competition is particularly tight, said Paul Tanguay, the company's
global director of recruitment strategies.
The company plans to add 95,000 seasonal workers, about the same
level as the previous two years, for positions from package
handlers and delivery helpers to drivers who run big-rigs loaded
with packages from one facility to another. FedEx expects to hire
more than 50,000 for the peak, close to last year's total.
UPS has also been adding automated equipment and opening up new
facilities aimed at handling both holiday surges and the growing
volume of e-commerce packages outside of peak season.
Parcel carriers and courier firms that deliver online purchases
to consumers' doorsteps have been ramping up hiring since the
spring. The number of people employed in the sector rose 31,000
over the past year, according to Labor Department data for August.
Warehouse hiring is also at near-record levels, accounting for
951,000 jobs in August
Some employers are relaxing screening or disciplinary policies
as workers become harder to find. Companies might rehire employees
who were dismissed for minor infractions, or give a second chance
to employees who miss shifts, said Brian Devine, senior vice
president at ProLogistix.
Kenco Logistics, a third-party logistics provider based in
Chattanooga, Tenn., whose customers include industrial, consumer
goods and e-commerce clients, is considering various
"second-strike" options to reduce turnover.
"Our number one reason for losing people is they can't show up
for work on time every day," said David Caines, the company's chief
operating officer.
But leniency has its limits, even during the holiday rush. "You
don't want to cross a line and be so lax that things get out of
control," Mr. Caines said.
--Suzanne Kapner contributed to this article.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 20, 2017 14:03 ET (18:03 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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