2020 has been a strange and challenging year for most people. The COVID-19 pandemic has touched everyone in one way or another and has had a massive effect on businesses around the globe. Unemployment in the US hit near all-time highs earlier in the year closing in on 15% in March, causing many people to hunt for new jobs. The unemployment rate has steadily declined throughout the year, but is still over twice as high as it was at this point last year.
What’s next for jobs as we approach the end of the year?
Who Will Hire More?
Previous trends do not necessarily mean that everything is all “doom & gloom” on the job front. As is usually the case in the 4th quarter of the year, several industries see an uptick in hiring due to increased demand for products and services and 2020 should be no different. It’s no surprise that the retail industry tops the list of job openings towards the end of the year, but administrative and support services, waste management, manufacturing, and warehousing also see a lot of hiring at this same time. In fact, as some industries are shifting their holiday plans to account for COVID-19 (think, Black Friday becoming a month-long event), there may be an even greater need for workers.
Source: EMSI Job Posting Data, Oct-Dec 2019
What Are Today’s Top Jobs?
It should not shock anyone to see that retail, transportation, warehousing, and manufacturing are some of the top industries for hiring seasonal help at the end of the year. This year is no different. Experts are forecasting a year over year increase in digital holiday sales between 25-35%, increasing the need for warehouse and transportation workers. But even with the surge in online sales, the demand for retail workers at brick-and-mortar stores stills looks healthy.
The top job postings for retail positions are for sales associates, cashiers, and customer service workers. Incredibly, even with the enormous expected growth of online sales to end 2020, these brick-and-mortar jobs for retails stores are being posted nearly at the same rate as 2019.
The light industrial positions being hired in 2020 point to the expected increase in online sales as stock and order filler positions and freight, stock, and material handler titles showed a job posting increase of 43.7% and 42.7% respectivel year over year for the month of October .
Source: EMSI Job Posting Data, Retail Jobs, October 2020
Source: EMSI Job Posting Data, Light Industrial Jobs, October 2020
What Skills Will Pay the Bills?
Unsurprisingly, if broken down to simply look at the skills that hiring managers are looking for this holiday season, 7 of the top 10 in demand skills directly relate to the aforementioned jobs in retail, warehousing, and manufacturing - sales, warehousing, customer service, and cashier skills. However, the data points to skills like merchandising, selling techniques, warehousing, and cash handling having a shortfall on the supply side.
Source: EMSI Job Posting Data, October 2020
Ready to work? There are jobs out there!
The good news is that if you are looking for a job, whether it be seasonal or something more long-term, there are plenty available to you. But it can be daunting trying to find the right fit. Working with a staffing agency like Nesco Resource can take a lot of the stress out of your job hunt by allowing our experts to work with you to find the perfect opportunity for you. Start your search online or contact a local branch today.