Seasonal retail hiring is expected to fall to its lowest point since the recession in 2009, according to a new report from the outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Retailers added 543,100 jobs in the final quarter of 2024, down nearly 4% from 2023, as companies waited until late in the season to boost staff. This year, Challenger projects retailers may add fewer than 500,000 positions in the last three months of 2025, marking the smallest seasonal gain in 16 years.
“Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger, and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, on Sept. 25.
“While we could see a late hiring push if holiday sales surprise to the upside, the cautious pace of announcements so far suggests that companies are not betting on a big seasonal surge. This year may be more about doing more with less,” he added.
Bath & Body Works announced plans to hire 32,000 workers this holiday season, including 2,000 workers in distribution centers. Spirit Halloween plans to add 50,000 workers. Warehousing and Logistics company Geodis told news outlets it would add 4,600 workers.
Meanwhile, Kohl’s has announced it is hiring seasonal workers but did not give a number. Target updated a posting outlining their seasonal plans but did not detail numbers of workers. Instead, the major retailer said it would offer hours to existing workers and tap into a network of 43,000 “on-demand” team members, in addition to hiring new team members.
Preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show Retail currently employs 15,550,700, the highest number of workers since 2018, when 15,713,500 workers were employed. This figure tends to dip in September as teens and college-aged workers go back to school and picks up again in the final quarter of the year.
“A wave of uncertainty is impacting not just retailers, but also consumers heading into the final quarter of the year,” Challenger said. “With hiring slowing across the board, retailers may hire fewer workers themselves, while many of their shoppers slow spending.”
Transportation & Warehousing
Similarly, seasonal hiring in Transportation and Warehousing is expected to underperform. Last year, employers in this sector added 303,700 positions in the fourth quarter, down 2% from 2023, and the lowest Q4 total since 2019. Challenger forecasts a further decline in 2025, as e-commerce firms and logistics providers continue to lean on automation, flexible scheduling, and year-round staff to meet fluctuating demand.
“Companies have been steadily restructuring their workforces this year, with a sharper focus on efficiency and technology,” Challenger said. “The traditional seasonal spike in warehousing and shipping jobs is no longer as pronounced, and that shift could be permanent.”
