The growth of online shopping is leaving shippers scrambling to find enough seasonal workers.
The trend is leading to more opportunities for area residents who are looking for part-time employment – and possibly more, writes Brian McCullough on pottsmerc.com
[uam_ad id=”54865″]
UPS is the latest to put out a call for help. It is in the process of hiring 750 workers for its West Chester package center and 500 more for its Willow Grove facility.
The hiring started in November but there were still 600 openings in West Chester as of last week, a company representative said, adding that the hiring will go on through Christmas.
The growth in seasonal hiring is a reflection of the increasing popularity of online shopping. UPS expects to deliver a record-breaking 750 million packages this season and continues to fill driver-helper positions. It said full- and part-time seasonal positions are available.
According to the National Retail Federation, this holiday shopping season got off to a solid start for both online and brick-and-mortar operations. From Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday, more than 174 million Americans shopped in stores and online.
The organization predicted retail sales in November and December will increase 3.6 to 4 percent, reaching between $679 billion and $682 billion, surpassing the five-year average of 3.5 percent.
For shippers, the increased acceptance of online shopping is good for business.
At UPS, that means:
• Forecasts for record holiday delivery of about 750 million packages;
• Deliveries between Black Friday and New Year’s Eve are projected to increase 5 percent from 2016;
• 17 of 21 holiday delivery days before Christmas are expected to exceed 30 million packages.
For the complete story click here.
[uam_ad id=”54875″]
