Holiday hiring is projected to drop this season, with retailers expected to bring on 520,000 seasonal workers, down from previous years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Economic pressures and a shift toward e-commerce are driving this trend, reshaping how companies prepare for holiday demand.
Amazon bucks the trend, maintaining plans to hire 250,000 seasonal employees nationwide, including thousands in New York, as it expands its warehousing network to support surging online orders. Western New York alone now hosts 10 Amazon fulfillment centers and 36 delivery stations, reflecting a broader industry pivot. Other companies like UPS and Target also plan significant hiring, targeting 125,000 and 100,000 workers, respectively.
Traditional retail jobs continue to decline as online shopping reshapes consumer habits, driving growth in warehousing and distribution sectors, which now employ three times as many workers as a decade ago.
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