Remote work could be reason behind trend, expert claims
There has been a slowdown in holiday hiring activities this year so far compared to last year.
Overall, Canadian holiday-related job postings on Indeed were down 30% by Nov. 3 compared to a year earlier.
Economy-wide job postings were also down 27% year-over-year, and this points “to the latter’s link to the recent broad-based decline in employer demand,” said Brendon Bernard, senior economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab, in the report.
Holiday-related job posts represented only 1.2% of all postings as of early November 2023.
“This drop-off in holiday posting share from 2019 suggests other trends beyond the macro economy have also influenced demand for seasonal hiring,” he said.
“Holiday job postings in 2022 weren’t as elevated as postings overall, a potential reflection of several factors including a shift to e-commerce sales, changes in foot traffic at large urban malls, and different commuting patterns surrounding the rise of remote work.”
In September, Amazon announced it is hiring 6,000 employees across Canada in full-time, seasonal, and part-time roles across its operations network.
Strong interest in holiday-season jobs
Meanwhile, there seems to be high interest in holiday-season jobs among jobseekers, according to Indeed’s report.
As of Nov. 3, seasonal-related job searches stood at 2.4 searches per thousand Canadian job seeker searches, compared to 2.1 per thousand a year earlier.
“Solid levels of seasonal job seeker interest at least partly reflect the normalization of daily life as the pandemic has waned. But it also comes at a time when the Canadian labour market has weakened somewhat,” said Bernard, noting that the unemployment rate among those aged 15-to-24 in October stood at 11.4%, compared to 9.5% at the start of the year.
“As a result, the elevated rate of seasonal searches could, at least in part, be a sign that job seekers aren’t as confident finding work elsewhere, at a time when the overall economic outlook is subdued.”
Seasonal jobs, also, can be jobseekers' way to make money while they search for a permanent position elsewhere, he said.
“Given the time crunch employers face when filling positions over the holidays, seasonal retail offers at least a temporary bridge for job seekers looking for more permanent work. Meanwhile, the softer labour market could make filling these job openings easier than in recent years.”
Job seekers are having a hard time finding work, according to a previous report from Statistics Canada.
Hiring during in the holiday season
For employers who typically hire for the holiday season, these strategies can help manage that hiring in an uncertain economy, according to Monster:
- Look internally first.
- Lean toward more flexible positions.
- Consider hiring seasonal workers who can contribute in multiple ways.
- Don’t drop your hiring too low.
“The holiday season is more about the experience and emotions attached to it, and seasonal team members are an important part of this and are also important to ensure businesses deliver customer needs,” said Adrienne Couch, human resources analyst with business site LLC.services, in via Monster.
