Amazon announced on October 20 that it plans to hire more than 300,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers ahead of the peak shopping season, according to a press release. Amazon has committed to hiring 250,000 holiday workers in 2025, representing a 20% increase in employment.
UPS, one of the largest U.S. shipping companies, announced on Oct. 7 that it will hire 100,000 seasonal employees in 2026, a nearly 10% decrease from the company’s 2025 holiday hiring goal.
Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said these announcements and fewer retailers announcing openings ahead of the holiday season are part of the reason why experts say seasonal hiring is sending “mixed signals.”
“We don’t expect this year to be the explosive seasonal hiring year that we saw in 2021 and 2022,” Challenger told CNBC Make It. “There’s reason to be a little more positive than we originally thought,” Challenger said in response to Amazon’s announcement.
According to an October 15 report from Indeed Hiring Lab, the economic research arm of the job information site, the number of seasonal job openings as of September 30, 2026 exceeded the level for the same period in 2025. Experts say non-retail employment is driving growth.
An Indeed report found that seasonal employment, as measured by job postings, will be 10% higher in 2026 than in 2025. Researchers identified seasonal jobs on Indeed and other job sites. Seasonal jobs are defined as roles that include at least one holiday-related description in the title. Laura Ulrich, director of economic research at Indeed, told CNBC Make It that the data reflects “the vast majority of jobs.” This includes jobs where the company did not pay Indeed to upload the job information to the site.
While many retailers have been quiet about their seasonal hiring plans, Challenger said “we’re seeing some positive additions” to Amazon’s hiring plans. “UPS is definitely down a little bit. Merchandise exports are down a little bit as well.”
New Retail Seasonal Recruitment Strategy
The retail industry has long been dominated by seasonal hiring, but that stronghold is shaky. According to Indeed, in 2019, retail jobs accounted for approximately 66% of all seasonal jobs. Currently, retail adds 61% of all seasonal work opportunities.
Loading and stocking jobs, which accounted for 3.5% of seasonal job openings in 2019, accounted for 9% of all holiday job openings as of September 30, 2026. According to Indeed, warehousing is the fastest growing industry among retail, sales, customer service, transportation, and food preparation industries.
When it comes to individual roles, the five most in-demand roles outside of retail include customer service representatives, unloaders, delivery drivers, photographers, and stockists, according to a report from Indeed.
Indeed’s experts say the change in seasonal employment reflects how e-commerce has changed the shape of holiday shopping. According to data from Statista Research Division, up to 87% of Americans shop online, and experts predict that e-commerce retail sales will grow 6% annually through 2030.
Bain & Company predicts that holiday retail sales across the U.S. will top $1 trillion in 2026 for the first time in history, driven by inflation. Challenger said the numbers “do not necessarily mean an increase in sales, revenue or profits.”
Rather, the forecast shows that while high prices for essentials like food and gasoline are changing consumer habits, inflation “has not completely dampened consumer expectations to participate in shopping this holiday season,” Challenger said.
In preparation for the holiday season, retailers are hiring more full-time, part-time jobs to replace seasonal jobs, Ulrich said.
Non-seasonal part-time jobs accounted for 38% of retail job openings in September 2025 and now account for 49% of the holiday retail job market. As of September 2026, seasonal positions accounted for just 20% of all holiday jobs at retailers, down from the same period in 2025.
Depending on sales forecasts, retailers take different approaches to seasonal hiring. Spirit Halloween announced June 11 that it will hire 52,000 employees, and Michael’s plans to hire more than 10,000 employees during the holiday period. According to Target’s website, the company said it will rely on existing employees before seeking seasonal employment. The big-box store did not announce the number of employees.
Ulrich said he sees the trend of increased full-time employment across retail as “positive” and that retailers are “recognizing the need for more full-time employees.”
More people are looking for seasonal jobs
Seasonal work is also in high demand for job seekers. Desktop searches for seasonal and holiday terms on Indeed increased by 28% in 2026 compared to 2025 search data, a sign that employees are looking to earn some extra cash before the end of the year.
A June 9 Indeed report found that 16% of active job seekers already hold multiple jobs. On average, workers with multiple jobs applied three times more in the month before landing their second job.
Workers in service jobs, characterized by high turnover and inconsistent schedules, are most likely to leave for another job. Among active job seekers, food preparation workers who are seeking additional employment make up the largest proportion (17%).
