‘Tis the season. With another Halloween in the books and Thanksgiving right around the corner, hiring for seasonal positions is ramping up.
Joe Frank, with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, said the state’s seasonal job market is a strong indicator of overall economic health, and the outlook is good.
“This is the best situation we’ve seen in almost the past decade,” he said.
Frank said just taking a drive around central Indiana, he sees “now hiring” signs everywhere, especially at retail establishments. He also spotted those “help wanted” notices earlier this year than in holiday seasons past, which tells a positive tale of economic recovery.
“Employers are having to hire their seasonal employees earlier this year than they have in the past several years, which is a good sign,” Frank said. “They understand their sales volume is increasing, so they need to compete for employees earlier.”
Frank said he doesn’t have to interpret the signs and read between the lines to see the economic recovery; the numbers tell the story in a big way.
Federal reports show an increase of 12,000 Indiana retail jobs during the one-year period September 2014–2015. The September 2013–2014 increase: a mere 1,100 jobs.
“The job growth compared to last year is exponential, which means there are a lot more jobs available,” he said.
A bump in retail jobs indicates an expected bump in spending.
“One of the big things about a healthy economy is people buy things,” Frank said. “They spend more for Christmas, they spend more for birthdays … they’re doing that because the economy is more secure.”
Another indication of improving economic health is a shift in the people seeking and being selected for seasonal positions.
“It’s going back to a typical economic situation, where a lot of these temporary and seasonal jobs are high school students and college students,” Frank said. “What we had during the depths of the recession was folks who were laid off typically taking those jobs, and students didn’t have those opportunities. Now there’s a wholesale shift; those jobs are going back to students.”
Frank said there are still plenty of seasonal job to go around, but time is of the essence.
“Long story short, there are more opportunities for seasonal jobs this year than there have been in almost the past decade,” Frank said. “Getting out there as quickly as possible, getting your resume out there will really reap some good benefits for you.”
One local employer making a huge holiday hiring push is the United States Postal Service (USPS) Greater Indiana District. Spokeswoman Mary Dando said USPS volume surges during the holidays — especially with the rise in online shopping and the packages that come along with it — and the postal service is already seeing a slight bump in volume.
“After Thanksgiving, we see it really, really rise,” Dando said.
USPS is hiring several people for Holiday Carrier Assistant and Holiday Clerk Assistant positions, which each pay $15.63 per hour.
Dando said holiday employees can work a flexible schedule, with as many or as few hours as they want, within the six-week period Nov. 14–Jan. 8. Though the positions end after six weeks, Dando said the holiday positions are an easy way for employees to see what it’s like working for the postal service, in case they want to pursue a permanent position.
Frank said many seasonal jobs have the potential to turn into full-time gigs.
“We’re also going into (an economic) situation where retail hiring is increasing to the point where they’re also hiring full-time folks,” he said. “If you do a good job in a seasonal position — you’re a hard worker, you show up on time, the basic “soft skills” — those are the types of employees they look for to move into full-time positions.”
Interested USPS applicants should visit usps.com, click on “careers” on the bottom left and narrow the search to Indiana. Dando said new jobs are posted daily, so applicants should check back frequently if they don’t find what they’re looking for.
To find other seasonal job opportunities, Frank recommends Indianacareerconnect.com.
