Nevada employers expected to add up to 6,500 season jobs

The Thanksgiving and Christmas displays popping up at your local stores mean the holiday shopping season is approaching fast, and retailers in Nevada and across the nation are hiring workers in preparation for the busiest shopping season of the year. With low gas prices and strong employment growth expected to spur holiday spending, retailers in the United States are projected to add 755,000 seasonal employees from October through December 2015, which is on par with the number of seasonal hires reported in 2014, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

Based on hiring announcements by major national retailers, the Retail Association of Nevada (RAN) projects 6,500 seasonal employees will be put to work in the Silver State, which is roughly the same as the number of holiday hires reported a year ago. During the last three months of 2014, new jobs in the retail trade sector accounted for seven out of every 10 new jobs added in Nevada.

“Retail trade provides work for nearly 140,000 Nevadans, and we expect that number to grow this holiday season as employees find new work or take on additional part-time jobs to boost their income during the holidays,” said Bryan Wachter, senior vice president of RAN.

The holiday season arrives as Nevada’s consumer spending has reached record levels. Taxable retail sales for the 12 months ending July 2015 (latest available data) climbed to $50.7 billion, which is an all-time high and 6.3-percent higher than the prior year. In fact, year-over-year taxable sales have risen for 61 consecutive months, as the state has emerged from the recession. This growth is expected to continue going into the final months of the year as taxable retail sales reported during the October-to-December holiday season account for more than a quarter of all sales in Nevada during the year. Detailed spending projections will be released as we move closer to the holiday shopping season.

Consolidating the hiring announcements made by retailers thus far, RAN estimates major national retailers will hire about 3,400 seasonal workers in 2015, accounting for half of total seasonal hiring estimates. While most new staffers will work in stores, a growing number of positions will be dedicated to online shopping fulfillment. Macy’s will hire 85,000 workers nationwide this holiday season, with about 12,000 assigned to company fulfillment centers. Target and Wal-Mart planned to hire 70,000 and 60,000 seasonal workers, respectively, which is flat compared to 2014. This year, however, both retailers will use more seasonal positions to fulfill online shopping orders, both in stores and at fulfillment centers. Kohl’s announced plans to add 69,000 seasonal employees, with 9,500 of those assigned to distribution and fulfillment centers, while JCPenney will hire 30,000 workers. Rounding out the major retail hiring list are Toys ‘R’ Us, which expects to hire 40,000 workers, and GameStop, which will add 28,000 seasonal employees.

Online retail giant Amazon has yet to announce its 2015 holiday hiring plans, but last year, the company added 80,000 seasonal workers nationwide. Shipping companies UPS and FedEx will both staff up for the holiday period as well. UPS plans to hire between 90,000 and 95,000 workers, and FedEx announced it will try to fill 55,000 positions. Both figures are similar to last year’s estimates for each company.