The arts and crafts retailer, Michaels Companies is hosting hiring events in more than 1,250 stores on 7th September to fulfil its manpower requirements for the upcoming holiday season. The company announced that it will hire "approximately" 15,000 seasonal employees.

With the busiest gift-giving period of the year around the corner, many retailers and e-commerce companies will now start hiring more. Some of them have already begun. Besides Michaels, 1-800-FLOWERS.COM has also shared it plans to hire more than 8,000 seasonal associates for various positions across its gourmet food brands for the holiday season. The majority of the roles being offered are in Illinois, Ohio and Oregon. For Michaels, the seasonal hiring will be done across its U.S. and Canada stores and distribution centers.

Holly Shaskey-Platek, Senior Vice President of Human Resources said, “The holidays are an important time of the year for customers and team members alike."

Platek believes it is a great opportunity for the job seekers to learn from each other, and other team members and enhance their career. Some seasonal hires often get absorbed in permanent roles as well.

Last year, more than 40 percent of seasonal in-store positions got converted into regular roles after the holidays, including over 30 percent of their distribution center seasonal team members and over 40 percent of Artistree’s seasonal staff. 

In Manchester, retailer JCPenney has also began the hunt to fill 100 positions, as it gears up for the holiday season.

To attract more candidates for these seasonal roles, these retailers are offering special discounts, in addition to wages and other benefits. Michaels, for instance, is giving flexible hours and a 30% discount.  JCPenney, on the other hand, is promising up to 25 percent discount and an inclusive team environment.

Seasonal hiring is beneficial for businesses to handle predictable large influxes of customers. It is also seen as a cost-effective solution, better than hiring full-time or part-time employees.

Here is an article that lays out 10 important tips that businesses can use to hire great seasonal employees: Want to hire seasonal employees? Follow these 10 tips

The job market should see more demand for seasonal hires as the holiday season comes closer. However, the current economic instability might impact the seasonal hirings this year. With major brands laying off employees, to cut costs, will there be more hires this year or will the number go down? It is only a few weeks and these questions shall be answered.