People seeking temporary work this holiday season have more options than ever — especially in the shipping sector.
There will be more seasonal job growth in delivery and warehousing this year than any other industry, according to new estimates from the Challenger, Gray and Christmas research firm.
“We continue to move from brick-and-mortar toward click-and-order. But even in the internet era of holiday shopping, that means that brick-and-mortar fulfillment facilities need seasonal workers,” said John Challenger, the firm’s chief executive offer.
USPS plans to hire between 35,000-40,000 seasonal workers to process and deliver holiday cards and packages.
In 2015, the Postal Service hired nearly 29,000 seasonal employees to work as mail handlers, retail associates, tractor trailer drivers and city carrier assistants.
UPS and FedEx plan to hire add 150,000 extra workers this holiday season, about the same as last year, according to Challenger’s estimates.
These numbers are up dramatically from a decade ago, when seasonal job gains in delivery and warehousing measured just 42,000.
Holiday job growth in the retail industry remains flat: Retailers are expected to add 738,000 positions this year, about the same as last year but down from the 749,100 jobs added in 2014.