The holiday season will see a decrease in seasonal job hires as many U.S. companies have yet to announce their hiring plans for the quarter. According to career consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, seasonal hiring is expected to drop by 2.5% this year, resulting in about 450,000 new jobs added in Q4, down from 461,500 last year and significantly below the peak of nearly a million hires seen in 2020-2021. Retailers are opting to rely more on automation and existing staff rather than hiring additional seasonal employees due to high prices and tariffs affecting supply chains.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
According to a report by career consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, fewer Americans will be hired for seasonal work this holiday season. Many U.S. retailers typically announce their seasonal hiring plans at the start of fall but have remained quiet about them so far this year. Seasonal hiring is expected to drop by 2.5 percent from last year, with approximately 450,000 new jobs added in Q4, compared to 461,500 jobs added in 2025 and 543,100 in 2024. Despite consumers continuing to spend despite high prices, retailers are planning to rely more on existing staff and on-demand labor pools rather than hiring additional seasonal workers. This trend suggests that companies are cautious about increasing their workforce due to ongoing supply chain issues and the impact of tariffs.
Written for “Holiday Hiring Slump” on 2026-10-05,
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Fewer Americans will be hired for seasonal work this holiday season as many companies have been quiet about their upcoming hiring plans, according to a report.
uncertain
companies → hire → report
While many large U.S. retailers announce seasonal hiring plans at the start of fall, many have not made such announcements so far this year.
asserted
many → announce → announcements
Seasonal hiring is expected to drop 2.5 percent from last year to about 450,000 new jobs added in Q4, according to predictive data from career consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
uncertain
hiring → expect → Challenger
That’s a sizable decrease from the 461,500 jobs added in 2025, which was the smallest seasonal gain since 2008 and 15 percent below the 543,100 jobs added in Q4 of 2024.
asserted
which → ’ → 2024
Although consumers appear to be spending — despite high prices — the lack of hiring targets publicly announced so far suggests that retailers are planning to rely on existing staff and on-demand pools rather than committing to hiring more seasonal employees.
uncertain
retailers → appear → employees
“That resilience is not translating into large, early hiring commitments from the biggest Retailers,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and Chief Revenue Officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
asserted
Challenger → translate → Challenger
“Prices are still high, tariffs continue to work through supply chains, and Retailers are leaning on automation, existing associates, and on-demand pools before hiring net-new seasonal workers,” Challenger continued.
asserted
Challenger → continue → workers
“It’s more about restocking staffing plans surgically than a return to the 900,000-plus seasonal hiring years we saw in 2020 and 2021,” he added.
asserted
he → ’ → 2020
Challenger noted that consumers may also shop more frugally in the fourth quarter amid rising prices and high cost of living.
uncertain
consumers → note → living
“Consumers are stretched but they are still showing up.
asserted
they → stretch → ?
Back-to-school spending held up, and the August surge in retail sales tells us households are not yet in retreat,” Challenger said.
asserted
Challenger → hold → retreat
“But almost every hiring announcement we’ve seen in the last three years is smaller and more surgical than the pre-pandemic playbook.”
asserted
we → see → playbook
He added: “Even if the big names come in at last year’s numbers, the total will likely fall well short of the 2019-2021 peaks.”
asserted
total → add → peaks
While there have been fewer public hiring commitments than usual, some big employers have made recent announcements, including Spirit Halloween and Michaels.
asserted
employers → make → Halloween
Spirit Halloween announced the largest seasonal hiring push in its history, adding 52,000 associates to staff over 1,500 stores across the U.S. and Canada.
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Halloween → announce → U.S.
Meanwhile, Michaels plans to hire more than 10,000 seasonal workers
The report noted, however, that Amazon hired 250,000 seasonal employees during each of the last three years, but has not announced its plans yet.
asserted
Amazon → plan → plans
Bath & Body Works, which also usually announces its hiring plans by this time of year, had not made any public announcements yet.
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which → announce → announcements
Additionally, other retailers like Target and Kohl’s typically hire about 100,000 and 90,000 roles, respectively, each holiday season.
asserted
retailers → hire → roles
While both are in the midst of their holiday hiring, neither has publicly announced specific hiring targets.
asserted
neither → announce → targets
The Aporia
