U.S. small businesses boost hiring in January

02/08/2016 |

U.S. small businesses boost hiring in January: NFIB

WASHINGTON

U.S. small businesses stepped up hiring in January after taking a pause in December and many continued to point to difficulty finding qualified workers, a survey showed on Thursday.

The monthly survey of the National Federation of Independent Business showed that 52 percent of respondents said they were hiring or trying to hire, but a large share of those reported few or no qualified applicants for the jobs they were trying to fill.

The percent of owners citing the difficulty finding qualified workers as their top problem held at 15 percent, the highest reading since 2007.

“This suggests that employers will face continued wage and benefit cost pressure in order to attract and keep good employees,” said NFIB Chief Economist William Dunkelberg.

The average employment gain per firm was 0.11 workers compared with -0.7 workers in December.

In the survey, 29 percent of owners reported jobs openings they could not fill, up one point from the prior survey and the highest level for the economic expansion.

“This is a solid reading historically and is suggestive of a reduction in the unemployment rate”, Dunkelberg said.

Growth in the United States slowed in the fourth quarter of last year and data so far in 2016 has shown that weakening global growth, a strong dollar and slumping oil prices continue to take a toll.

But employment has been a bright spot. Jobs data to be released on Friday by the Labor Department is expected to show non-farm payrolls grew by 190,000 in January, less than the robust 292,000 created in December but consistent with a strong jobs market.

(Reporting by Andrea Ricci; Editing by Bernard Orr)

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Retailers begin staffing up for the holidays

09/23/2015 |

Retailers begin staffing up for the holidays

By Sarah Halzack September 18

While you are still enjoying the last gasps of summer weather, the nation’s largest retailers and shippers have already begun their hiring sprees for the Christmas shopping rush.

The retail industry is expected to add 755,000 temporary workers during October and November, about as many as they hired last year. But this year, filling certain positions could be tougher, industry analysts say.

An improved economy may encourage consumers to ramp up their holiday shopping, but the growing popularity of online shopping and the rise of profit-eating free-shipping polices is also forcing some retailers to change up their hiring strategies.

Target said it would  hire about 70,000 store workers for the third year in a row. Department store chain Kohl’s is expecting to hire 69,000 workers, slightly more than the 67,000 it aimed for last year. Toys R Us is poised to bring on 40,000 workers this year, fewer than the 45,000 it hired last year.  The toy retailer says the decline is because it has implemented new policies that will allow seasonal staffers to take on more hours than they were able to in the past.

The composition of retailers’ holiday workforce is changing as more shopping moves online.  Instead of cashiers and greeters, many stores are in greater of need of workers who can pack and process online orders. Of the 60,000 seasonal workers being added by Wal-Mart, the country’s largest retailer, 3,500 will be department managers who will manage orders that have been placed online for in-store pick-up.

Frank Layo, a retail supply chain strategist at consultancy Kurt Salmon, said some retailers looking to fill warehouse and e-commerce jobs this year could find themselves facing a labor shortage.   As the job market has improved, he said, there might be fewer people willing to take these physically taxing jobs.  And many retailers will have even more of these kinds of positions to fill than they have in the past.

Layo said many of his clients are already struggling to get enough warehouse workers as they bring in holiday goods.

“It’s not a dramatic impact on their bottom line right now, but it is the early warning sign it’s going to be a bigger problem,” Layo said….

…Major shippers UPS and FedEx have also begun their holiday hiring blitz.  UPS estimates it will hire up to 95,000 workers, slightly less than the 100,000 it added last year.  FedEx plans to add 55,000 temporary employees, about 5,000 more than last year.  E-commerce giant Amazon.com has yet to announce how many workers it will be looking to bring on.

 

Sarah Halzack is The Washington Post’s national retail reporter. She has previously covered the local job market and the business of talent and hiring. She has also served as a Web producer for business and economic news.
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