Skip to content

Jordan Concords

simpleblogdescriptionhellog

  • Best Travel
  • Travel Bag
  • Family Trip
  • Best Tourist Spot
  • Camping Holiday
  • Vacation Packages
  • General
  • Toggle search form

Help Wanted: Retailers Redouble Calls For Holiday Workers

Posted on November 24, 2022 By admin

With the U.S. economy slouching toward a recession, the holidays hardly look happy for tens of thousands of Americans, as major tech companies like Amazon, Twitter and Facebook parent Meta have announced that they’ll be handing out pink slips instead of Thanksgiving turkeys.

But job news in Hawaii hasn’t been so dire — at least for the service-oriented sectors that play a big role in the state’s economy.

The holidays this year, in fact, might be an especially good time for people to pick up a few extra bucks with a short-term retail gig.

Total non-farm jobs in Hawaii have risen toward pre-pandemic levels and were hovering at approximately 614,700 in September compared with 659,100 in February 2020, before the pandemic started, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. That compares to a low of about 507,900.

Meanwhile, the statewide unemployment rate in September was 3.5%, down from a peak of 22.4% in April 2020.

Jen Abuel
Jen Abuel, manager of Surf Camp and Up and Riding in Kahala Mall, is one of numerous retailers looking for new workers as the holidays approach. “We’re just constantly hiring,” she said. Stewart Yerton/Civil Beat/2022

All this means retailers are pressing harder than ever to find people.

“This is kind of our Super Bowl,” said Tina Yamaki, president of Retail Merchants of Hawaii, a trade association. “Everyone is looking to hire, and it’s getting harder and harder to find employees who are qualified.”

There’s no state data on seasonal holiday retail hiring, said Carl Bonham, executive director of the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization.

But Bonham said the numbers show the overall rebound in retail employment, while still lower than before the pandemic, has tracked Hawaii’s overall rebound.

There were 64,600 retail jobs statewide in September according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared with 71,100 in February 2020, before the pandemic.

Given the relative lack of data, Bonham said, the best way to find out what’s going on is to talk to retailers.

“You probably need to go to the mall,” he said.

A short tour of Kahala Mall bears out Yamaki’s assertion that just about everybody’s looking for help. A case in point is Jen Abuel, manager of Up and Riding and its sister store, Surf Camp, a surf boutique that sells an array of items related to the ocean and outdoors, including coolers, camping gear and swim fins and masks. Between them, the two stores need a dozen workers, Abuel said.

Abuel said she would love permanent hires or seasonal workers for the holidays. The stores pay $12 to $14 an hour, she said, depending on experience. And she said, workers receive training in all aspects of retail.

That makes the job a great stepping stone into retail, Abuel said, but many of the store’s college and high school-aged employees leave after awhile, either to go off to college or to go home to the mainland on school breaks.

The result: “We’re just constantly hiring,” she said.

Also hiring are small, locally owned stores like the jewelry and gift shop Sugar Sugar Hawaii, which has help wanted flyers posted around the store, and SoHa Living.

“We’re looking for any kind of shifts,” said Kayla Fuentes, SoHa Living’s store manager.

Large Retailers Are Also Hiring

It’s not just jobs aimed at high school kids in affluent Kahala.

Indeed.com shows seasonal job openings across Oahu. Bath & Body Works, for instance, is looking for people in Aiea, Kaneohe, Pearlridge and Kapolei. Target, Ross, Macy’s and TJ Maxx parent TJX also were hiring seasonal employees across the island.

All this is a big change since the worst days of the pandemic, Yamaki says, when retail workers were sent home by government-imposed business closings. Many sidelined workers simply never came back when the stores reopened, Yamaki said.

Some retired, others turned side hustles into full-time jobs and others fled the state entirely, as part an ongoing trend of outmigration, Yamaki said.

Masked and unmasked people walk along the shops at Ala Moana Shopping Center.
The demand for seasonal works is high as the holiday shopping season begins. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2022

But the Great Resignation only exacerbated a problem that predated Covid-19, Yamaki said. Before Covid-19, Hawaii’s unemployment rate of just over 2% meant anyone who needed a job could get one and that employers were struggling to find help.

“Prior to the pandemic everybody was short-staffed already,” Yamaki said.

The demand for seasonal workers in 2022 might resemble the happier times before the pandemic, but Yamaki said there are key differences. For instance, she said, many retailers this year launched Black Friday sales in October instead of the traditional Friday after Thanksgiving. And while many retailers used to open as early as 12 a.m. on the Friday after Thanksgiving, that isn’t happening this year, she said.

Perhaps more important as an indicator of the economic outlook, many retailers are reducing the volume of merchandise they are ordering this year.

Sherry Menor-McNamara, president and chief executive of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, said it is a sign of caution.

“You’ve got to be careful, especially because many small businesses have faced so many challenges,” she said.

Despite the general increase in Hawaii employment, Bonham noted, there have been some anomalies that he can’t explain. Wholesale trade jobs never bounced back. And jobs in banking and insurance – the sort of white collar jobs that can be done from home — also have dropped and never bounced back, he noted.

While the abundance of seasonal jobs might provide extra cash for people, they’re not likely to be an economic savior for the enormous numbers of people struggling to get by amidst Hawaii’s high cost of living. An oft-cited, 2017 study by the Aloha United Way found 42% were in poverty or barely making enough to cover basic living expenses, like housing, food and transportation. A 2020 update estimated the number could rise significantly higher because of the economic shocks of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, studies suggest it’s tough to get by on Hawaii’s average retail wage. The Aloha United Way, for instance, pegged the hourly living wage for one person in Hawaii at about $14 in 2015, which would be about $18 in 2022, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A living wage study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology puts the number even higher, at almost $23. The average retail trade job in Hawaii in September, meanwhile, paid about $22 an hour, the bureau reports.

Still, many seasonal workers might be willing to accept lower wages in exchange for an employer’s willingness to train a first-time worker and accommodate the worker’s busy schedule.

SoHa Living’s Fuentes said store managers are accustomed to dealing with employees’ school, sports and extracurricular activities.

“We’re like – hey, what is your availability? We’ll work around it,” she said.

“Hawaii’s Changing Economy” is supported by a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation as part of its CHANGE Framework project.

Civil Beat


Sign up for our FREE morning newsletter and face each day more informed.


Sorry. That’s an invalid e-mail.

Thanks! We’ll send you a confirmation e-mail shortly.

Camping Holiday Tags:Calls, Holiday, Redouble, Retailers, Wanted, Workers

Post navigation

Previous Post: How I Made My Family Trip to Paris Easier, Cheaper and More Meaningful
Next Post: Best Black Friday deals on luggage, headphones and travel accessories

More Related Articles

Weather: MetService warns Auckland to be ravaged by nasty storm heading into Anniversary weekend Camping Holiday
Darla Dee Cossitt | Powell Tribune Camping Holiday
The Best Camping Gifts in 2022 Camping Holiday
Here’s S.F.’s plan to make streets safer downtown this holiday season Camping Holiday
Busiest season for Bismarck’s campgrounds Camping Holiday
Short-distance trips boom boosts car rental, camping business Camping Holiday

Recent Posts

  • The 10 Best Kid-Friendly Podcasts For Family Road Trips
  • Get 40% off flights and vacations with Air Canada right now
  • The 18 Best Destinations (Plus Tips)
  • Shop and Save on Adidas Hats, Bags, and More
  • Evo Car Share reverses $800 charge and offers tips for ‘ending’ trips

Archives

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • September 2021

Categories

  • Best Tourist Spot
  • Best Travel
  • Camping Holiday
  • Family Trip
  • General
  • Travel Bag
  • Vacation Packages

Visit Now

General News

Copyright © 2023 Jordan Concords.

Powered by PressBook Blog WordPress theme

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT