The news: Amazon will hire 250,000 workers this holiday season, the same number it brought on each of the past two years.
Why it matters: Amazon could account for more than half of all seasonal hires in the last three months of the year, as retailers pare back hiring plans in the face of considerable uncertainty.
- The retail industry is expected to add fewer than 500,000 seasonal jobs this year, the smallest number since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
- Among other retailers, Target, Macy’s, and UPS declined to provide specifics about their holiday workforce, while Kohl’s said it would hire an unspecified number of workers.
- Others, like Bath & Body Works and Radial, have fewer job openings this year as they take a cautious approach to the season.
Our take: Amazon’s consistent hiring plans illustrate its (relative) optimism heading into what could be a difficult season.
- Despite seemingly tepid results from its October Big Deal Days event, 59% of sales participants polled by Numerator said they would definitely shop on Amazon for holiday purchases, while another 25% said they are likely to do so.
- Cost-conscious shoppers’ focus on value is likely to benefit Amazon significantly. We expect the retailer’s US ecommerce sales to rise 4.8% during the holiday season—which, while a significant slowdown from 2024, is significantly ahead of our forecast for 1.2% growth in overall holiday sales.
Go further: Read our report on Holiday Shopping 2025.