CWS 3.0: November 16, 2011 - Vol. 3.33

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News: `Tis the Season (to Hire)

There really is a temp for each season. According to a survey of contingent workforce buyers by Staffing Industry Analysts in 2010, 21 percent of contingent usage was due to recurring seasonal needs. But contingent worker usage patterns vary depending on the time of year.

“It’s going to vary by industry,” said Jon Osborne, vice president, research, at Staffing Industry Analysts. “In the retail segment, there’s an obvious seasonal boom in the fall. In finance/accounting there’s a boom at tax time. And in the leisure/hospitality industry, there’s an uptick in the summer.”

And with the holidays approaching, retailers have started to beef up hiring. For example, Macy’s said it would hire 78,000 temporary workers, starting in September. Toys R Us, meanwhile, said it would hire more than 40,000 workers for its stores and distribution centers.

Then there are logistics companies; logistics ranks as the most seasonal temporary staffing segment. Both UPS and Fedex have announced their holiday season hiring plans. UPS reported last week it plans to hire approximately 55,000 seasonal workers this season. FedEx Corp. announced last month it will hire 20,000 seasonal workers.

UPS expects to deliver 120 million packages around the world in the last week before Christmas, up more than 6 percent from the same period last year. FedEx anticipates its worldwide operations will handle more than 260 million shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas, up 12 percent from last year.