Retailers are increasing the number of employees Holiday timebut fewer seasonal workers are expected to be hired to help this year Customers in stores and assemble online orders in warehouses.

E-commerce giant Amazon announced Thursday it would hire 250,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers for the crucial shopping phase, rounding out a series of announcements made by the country's leading retailers in recent weeks.

Amazon is hiring the same number of employees as last year, similar to Bath & Body Works and goalwhich announced in September that it planned to hire about 100,000 seasonal workers and offer current employees the opportunity to work overtime during the holiday shopping season.

Meanwhile, department store Kohl's encouraged people to apply for jobs but remained silent on its plans, as did Walmart, which claimed it had Hiring branch employees all year round and uses its own staff if necessary in the high season.

Others have indicated they will reduce their vacation rentals. Macy's said it will add more than 31,500 seasonal jobs this year at its Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury stores and distribution centers. Last year the company added 38,000.

This year's demand for seasonal workers is in line with economists I monitor the US labor market for signs of slowing. The number of job vacancies has fallen steadily since peaking at 12.2 million in March 2022. As the economy bounced back with unexpected vigor from the COVID-19 lockdowns, companies scrambled to find enough workers to keep up with customer orders.

The holiday shopping season is the busiest time of year for online and brick-and-mortar retailers. Some of them have already announced discount promotions to attract consumers who want to buy gifts early.

Consulting firm Deloitte forecasts U.S. retail sales will rise 2.3% to 3.3% between November and January, totaling $1.59 trillion. EY-Parthenon, the consulting arm of Ernst & Young, forecasts a similar 3% jump in sales for the traditional November-December period.

However, EY expects Parthenon Price increases due to inflation account for a large portion of this growth and say that real volume sales will only increase by 0.5% year-on-year.

Online sales, a growing segment of retail, are expected to rise 8.4% to reach a record $240.8 billion, according to Adobe, which tracks e-commerce transactions.

“Right now, retailers appear to be optimistic about a strong holiday season, which is reflected in the hiring plans of major retailers and warehouses,” said Andy Challenger, senior vice president at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

According to a report released last month by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. retailers are expected to add 520,000 new jobs in the final quarter of this year, compared to 564,200 in 2023. The company, which analyzes non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, says that this is more than the 509,300 seasonal jobs that retailers created in 2022. However, it is the second lowest total since 2009.

In general, the labor market has gradually lost momentum since the Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate several times in 2022 and 2023 to combat high inflation. Last month the Fed reduce its key interest rate For the first time in more than four years. The move reflected his new focus on strengthening the labor market.

Still, the retail industry could face challenges filling open positions in the coming weeks and months “due to job and pay requirements,” Challenger said.

To attract employees, companies such as Macy's and JCPenney, as well as sporting goods stores Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's, recruit workers through nationwide hiring events. JCPenney plans to hire more than 10,000 store employees, about the same as last year. Macy's said it will offer on-site interviews during its first event, held last week at its stores and warehouses. The company plans to hold three more events this year.

“We are seeing a strong flow of applications,” Macy's said, adding that nearly a third of recent hires were people who had previously worked for the company.

Given the growth of online shopping, the Delivery giant UPS said it plans to hire 125,000 seasonal workers for the holiday rush, up from 100,000 last year.

Radial, an e-commerce company that provides deliveries for brands like Calvin Klein and Express, said it plans to hire fewer people but also plans to scale its workforce based on real-time demand. This approach allows the company to meet customers' needs “without overcommitting,” said Billy Peterson, senior vice president at Radial.

On the buying side, consumers were resilient with their expenses At the same time, signs of stress are emerging as credit card debt rises and savings rates fall, trends that could weigh on spending in the coming months.

Retail sales checked in July-August, after recording its sharpest increase in a year and a half in the previous month. At the same time, consumers have become more cautious in their purchases and are resisting high prices by turning to private labels or looking for deals on products.

However, holiday shoppers could see even higher prices for products if a Dock workers strike The closure of all major shipyards on the US East Coast and Gulf Coast has been ongoing for more than a month.