The nights are drawing in and mince pies have started appearing on the shelves, but while demand for festive season jobs is at a six year high, employer recruitment activity is “sluggish”.
Workers that want or need to bolster their income with seasonal work might struggle to find seasonals jobs this year, according to data from hiring platform Indeed.
Its data revealed that searches for seasonal work are at a 6-year high, most likely in response to the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The platform said that searches for Christmas jobs accounted for 0.7 percent of all UK searches, which is a 24 percent rise on the previous year (figures as of 11 October, 2024).
Demand supply mismatch
Demand is not being matched by supply as job postings are down 12 percent from 2023.
Unsurprisingly, high street retailers are the mainstay of seasonal recruitment.
The top three employers by volume of seasonal job posts in order are Card Factory, Dunelm and Boots. Retail field marketing agency EXPD8, Costa, The Perfume Shop, Tesco, Pandora Jewelry, Hotel Chocolat and M&S make up the top 10 businesses.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said: “Employers are gearing up ahead of the traditionally busy Christmas trading period, though the seasonal ramp up has been sluggish so far compared with recent years. That may reflect caution among some employers amid an uncertain economic climate.
“These economic pressures are also impacting workers. Although inflation has come down from peaks, household finances remain stretched following substantial increases in living costs over the past couple of years. These factors may be pushing more people to consider temporary holiday work to earn some extra money to help them through what is typically an expensive time of year.
“But with seasonal job postings not matching strong job seeker demand for this kind of work, competition to secure holiday roles this year could be more competitive than ever. So those job seekers looking for seasonal work should aim to secure it sooner rather than later.”
