Walmart said it will hire 40,000 U.S. workers for the holidays, a majority of them seasonal workers.
The move, announced Wednesday, comes as the nation’s largest retailer and largest private employer said it’s in a stronger staffing position heading into the holidays than last year and is now focusing on hiring only seasonal workers, rather than permanent workers.
Just as in past years, the company will first offer current workers the opportunity to pick up additional shifts if they want to earn extra money for the holidays.
A year ago, the Bentonville, Ark.-based chain announced that it was looking to hire about 150,000 new U.S. store workers, most of them permanent, full-time positions.
Last fall, it also said it was planning to hire 20,000 permanent workers for its distribution and fulfillment centers, as the pandemic created big disruptions at various points in retailers’ supply chain network.
Companies that typically hire thousands of seasonal workers are again heading into the holidays during one of the tightest job markets in decades, making it challenging for many to find workers they need.
The job market has slowed but remains strong. Employers added 315,000 jobs in August, about what economists had expected, down from an average 487,000 a month over the last year, according to a government report earlier this month.
The jobless rate reached 3.7%, its highest level since February. But it increased for a healthy reason: Hundreds of thousands of people returned to the job market, and some didn’t find work right away, which boosted the government’s count of unemployed people.
Among other companies that have set their holiday plans, UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 workers to help handle the holiday rush this season, in line with the previous two years.
Some are looking specifically in Dallas-Fort Worth.
- Irving-based arts and crafts retailer Michaels said it will hire 15,000 workers for the holiday, including 347 in D-FW.
- FedEx is hiring more than 3,000 workers in D-FW and is hosting a national hiring day on Friday at 3901 Adler Drive in Dallas.
- Kroger is hiring 1,500 workers in North Texas for the holiday season.
Holiday season volumes usually start rising in October and remain high into January.
While online shopping has slowed from the height of the pandemic, it’s still well above historic norms. Danelle McCusker Rees, president of human relations at UPS, said this year’s job market remains just as competitive as last year’s.
Anne D’Innocenzio, AP Retail Writer. Staff writer Maria Halkias contributed to this report.
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