Retailers and package delivery companies rely on the holiday season to provide an end-of-year boost in sales that makes operating during the rest of the year worthwhile. Some businesses hire extra workers, often on a temporary basis, to get them through this busy time of year.
The number of jobs added by "holiday hiring" industries with strong holiday employment patterns was lower than average in 2013. The season's holiday buildup was led by stronger than usual growth by couriers and messengers (UPS, FedEx, etc.); health and personal care stores; and sporting goods, hobby, and book stores.
Here are total jobs numbers for industries we would expect to see a holiday hiring boost:
It's too early to say how well staffed the stores will be on opening day of this year's holiday shopping season ("Black Friday" - November 28, 2014). Industry trends through August show that retailers have not been adding a lot of jobs recently. However, the September 2014 employment forecast from the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis expects Oregon's retail trade employment to grow in the fourth quarter of 2014 by 1,500 jobs more than the typical seasonal increase.
The following graph is a breakout of which industries saw the greatest
buildup during the holiday hiring season, along with their average
September-December buildup.
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