From Mirror staff reports

Christmas may be months away, but U.S. retailers are making plans to supplement staff to ensure customers are taken care of during the busy holiday season. With the cooling labor market and cautious consumers, though, those plans call for hiring fewer seasonal employees compared to last year.

That’s according to global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas’s annual Seasonal Retail Hiring Outlook. With the current softening in both the labor market and economy, the firm expects retailers will add 520,000 jobs in the final quarter of 2024, which is the second-lowest total since 2009. It’s also lower than last year, when retailers added 564,200 new jobs, according to the firm’s analysis of nonseasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“This prediction considers that now, job gains are falling, and consumers have tightened spending,” said Andrew Challenger, labor expert and senior VP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “That said, the cooling seems to be slow. Seasonal employers will add jobs, but need may fluctuate as the season progresses.”

United Parcel Service plans to hire 125,000 workers for the holiday period, which is more than the 100,000 last year.

“The year-over-year increase in our seasonal hiring allows us to be even more confident that we will meet anticipated customer need,” spokesman Tom Farrell said.

Target, which has a store in Sierra North Plaza, plans to hire 100,000 holiday workers in its stores and fulfillment centers, which is consistent with its seasonal hiring plans for the past few years, said spokesman Brian Harper-Tibaldo.

Again this year, the retailer is investing in its team — which the company said is essential to delivering an industry-leading holiday shopping experience — by first offering current team members opportunities to work extra hours throughout the holiday season, Harper-Tibaldo said.

Seasonal roles often are a gateway to a continued career journey with Target. More than half of last year’s seasonal team members were offered a position to stay with Target, Harper-

Tibaldo added.

Macy’s Inc., which has a store in the Logan Valley Mall, plans to hire more than 31,500 full- and part-time seasonal positions this upcoming holiday season at its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury stores, as well as its distribution centers.

“At Macy’s Inc., our colleagues play a special role in delivering memorable customer experiences through our Bold New Chapter strategy,” said Danielle Kirgan, Macy’s Inc. chief human resources and corporate affairs officer. “We are excited to add more than 31,500 seasonal positions to help us welcome and serve our customers during the holidays.”

Bath and Body Works, which has stores in the Logan Valley Mall and Logan Town Centre, will hire 30,000 new seasonal associates at its more than 1,800 stores in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and 2,700 distribution center associates for its four central Ohio distribution centers.

Consistent with last year, the more than 30,000 roles will consist of part-time seasonal sales associates in Bath and Body Works retail locations and full-time merchandise handlers, merchandise processors, high lift operators and outbound loaders in its distribution centers.

“Nothing is more important than the human element of our business, and we are committed to providing employment opportunities that offer meaningful professional growth in a culture where associates are recognized as valuable contributors,” said Deon Riley, Bath and Body Works’ chief human resources officer.

Burlington Stores announced plans to hire 1,500 full-time and 23,000 part-time seasonal workers this season. Grocer Aldi will hire 13,000 this holiday season, while 1-800-Flowers is looking to hire 8,000 seasonal associates, in line with their efforts for six of the last eight years, according to Gray, Challenger & Christmas.

Others will be hiring seasonal workers but have not disclosed numbers.

“We are once again hiring across stores, distribution centers and e-commerce fulfillment centers for the holiday. Hiring needs are determined on an individual location basis and will vary by location and staffing needs,” said Mari Steinmetz, chief people officer for Kohl’s, which has a store in Logan Town Centre.

FedEx is also hiring seasonal workers.

“Our employees around the world are ready to deliver for this year’s peak season. We continue to hire for operational positions needed in certain locations and encourage anyone interested in a career at FedEx to visit http://careers.fedex.com to see the available positions in their market,” said spokeswoman Amelia Ables.

Walmart is ready for the holiday season.

“Our stores have been hiring throughout the year — we are fully staffed and ready to serve customers this holiday season. If we have additional staffing needs, we first offer extra hours to our current associates — many associates like to pick up additional hours throughout the holiday season. After that, if any store needs additional associates, they will hire on a case-by-case basis,” said spokeswoman Anne Hatfield.