Holiday recruitment for "too many monks and not enough porridge": American job seekers flock to temporary positions to "get through the winter".

According to research from the recruiting platform Indeed, many job seekers seem to be settling for short-term holiday season jobs when unable to find full-time work. Indeed data shows that as of the end of September, searches for seasonal positions have increased by 27% compared to the same period last year, and a staggering 50% compared to 2023. Despite a significant increase in job seeker demand, the number of seasonal positions posted by employers has only increased slightly by 2.7%, which means that even temporary holiday jobs may be hard to come by. "The current state of the seasonal job market is a microcosm of the entire employment market," said Indeed Senior Economist Cory Stahle in an interview. "People are actively searching for job opportunities but finding fewer options available to them." Stahle pointed out that the increase in searches for keywords such as "holiday," "seasonal," and "Christmas" reflects the overall weakness of the U.S. job market. Several economists, including Federal Reserve Chairman Powell, have noted that the current U.S. job market is showing characteristics of "low hiring, low firing." Stahle also mentioned that another signal of pressure on the job market is the increasing proportion of people holding multiple jobs. The latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that in August, 5.4% of the employed population held multiple jobs. When this proportion exceeds 5%, it signals a worrisome trend. "People are desperately seeking any job opportunity," added Stahle. Overall, job seekers looking for seasonal work may face a challenging holiday season. Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a job consulting firm, predicted in a report last month that retail employers may add fewer than 500,000 seasonal jobs in the last three months of the year, the lowest level since 2009. Delivery giants like United Parcel Service (UPS) and FedEx Corporation have not yet announced their hiring plans for this year, despite typically hiring thousands of seasonal employees. Amazon.com, Inc. expects to hire 250,000 employees during the peak season, a number consistent with the past two years.