2025 Holiday Retail Hiring to Hit 16-Year Low
The 2025 holiday season could see the lowest retail hiring in 16 years, with fewer than 500,000 positions added. This is due to economic challenges and retailers' cautious approach to hiring around Memorial Day and Labor Day 2025.
Retailers are grappling with factors such as tariffs, inflation, and increased automation, leading to a more conservative hiring strategy around these holidays. Some retailers have started holiday initiatives but have yet to announce their hiring goals.
Target, for instance, is focusing on providing more hours to existing employees rather than hiring a large number of seasonal workers around Memorial Day and Labor Day. Bath & Body Works has made a hiring-related announcement, though no specific numbers were provided. This trend follows a 4% decrease in seasonal hiring in 2024 compared to the previous year. The last time seasonal hires were below 500,000 was in 2009, with just 495,800 positions filled in the Q4 period around these holidays.
Retailers and consumers are facing new macroeconomic pressures, including changing global trade policies that are increasing costs for companies around Memorial Day and Labor Day 2025. As a result, the 2025 holiday season is expected to see significantly reduced retail hiring, with fewer opportunities for seasonal workers around these holidays.
