By Retail Dive Staff
It’s a tough year to work in retail. In the first five months of the year, job cuts surged 274% compared to the same period in 2024, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
That trend continued into July and August, with retailers shedding jobs at elevated levels at the same time that hiring efforts are slowing.
What is going on with retail contributes to a lackluster labor market which, in turn, is impacting consumers’ willingness to spend, especially as lower-income households struggle to afford life’s necessities. Some firms, including PwC, are even projecting holiday sales will decline this year amid shopper pullback. Those that do see growth ahead acknowledge volumes could be relatively flat.
All of that is likely to mean fewer seasonal workers manning the shelves and distribution centers this year — and that’s on top of last year, when retailers added 4% fewer jobs during the fourth quarter.
Retail hiring this year could fall to its lowest point “since the recession-hit season of 2009,” according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ seasonal hiring outlook.
Retailers are expected to bring on fewer than 500,000 employees this season, down from over 543,000 last year. The firm noted that even among those who are announcing hiring plans, many retailers aren’t specifying how many employees they plan to bring on this season, suggesting they may be planning on “doing more with less.”
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