Cool labor market, rising job seekers set the stage for a hot holiday job search, but one sector isn’t bucking the trend
Allison Shrivastava, economist at Indeed Hiring Lab, tells Fox News Digital about seasonal hiring trends, including supply and demand.
If finding a seasonal job is on this year’s holiday wish list, you may face some stiff competition.
The key findings from the Indeed Hiring Lab report released last week indicate that the once turbulent labor market is cooling down. As of September 24, seasonal shipments — which typically peak in September and peak in November — were down 12% from 2021, but up 0.5% over the same period in 2019.
However, Allison Shrivastava, an economist associated with Indeed Hiring Lab and author of the report, believes that the drop in postings is not a bad sign.
“2021 and 2022 was a hot labor market with a lot of demand for work. We needed to come down from that really big demand, and we did. We’re back to almost 2019 posting levels, so even though it’s a bit of a slowdown, I like to look at it as a return to that big,” he said. he told Fox News Digital.
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At the same time, overall cooling demand has been met with growing interest among seasonal job seekers. Searches are up 18% compared to last year, “indicating increased competition for available holiday positions,” the report said.
“That could be for a number of reasons. It’s possible that more people are interested in seasonal work to help offset the costs of the holiday season. It’s also possible that more people feel comfortable working as freelancers now,” Shrivastava explained.
“It’s possible, too, that the job market has cooled down a bit now, so maybe people want to move on. [as many] as many jobs as possible.”
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A salesperson arranges merchandise in the Soho neighborhood of New York, US, Saturday, August 10, 2024. Retail sales remain strong, as other sectors cool. (Yuki Iwamura/Bloomberg via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Among the fastest-growing seasonal occupations, retail led the way, with sales-related positions up 235.90%, followed by tanker drivers at 153% and restaurant workers at 90.80%.
Sales, even outside the seasonal market, have been quite strong,” Shrivastava said.
As of late September, the sector accounted for 66% of all seasonal shipments, surpassing last year’s share by nearly 8 percentage points and surpassing pre-pandemic levels by 4%.
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“Retail inventory shipments are still above their pre-pandemic baseline, which means that consumer demand for real estate has been really strong, which is a good sign. That’s been a strong thread of demand over the last few years as we’ve been through this tough economic environment,” Shrivastava said.
“That’s been good, it’s been tight on the line, and it seems that employers are very hopeful that it will be the same for the holiday season,” he added.
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