Buoyed by the rising economy and the steady pace of job creation, U.S. businesses have expressed a strong intent to employ seasonal workers. This sentiment builds off improved hiring intent after the recession.
In a recent survey by CareerBuilder, 29 percent of responding organizations said they plan to hire seasonal summer workers. The number is unchanged from the percentage that said the same during this time last year. However, it marks an 8 percent increase from the average response rate between the economic downturn years of 2008 to 2011.
The industry most likely to hire during the summer is leisure and hospitality, from which 47 percent of hiring managers indicated they would hire. Manufacturing hiring sentiment was also strong (34 percent), as was information technology (34 percent) and retail (33 percent).
“The summer forecast shows yet again that although the jobs recovery has been slow, employers are more confident today than they were three or four years ago,” said Brent Rasmussen, president of CareerBuilder North America. “Seasonal work – whether in retail or engineering – is also a good entry point into the labor force for job seekers, as a vast majority of employers – 67 percent – will consider summer hires for permanent positions.”
The most commonly cited positions for summer employment are: office support (27 percent), customer service (22 percent), information technology (20 percent) and engineering (18 percent).
Employers increase spend on summer wages
Small businesses may need to look for extra financing to cover expenses and cash flow because more employers reported they will increase their wages paid out to summer employees. Sixty-six percent of respondents will pay seasonal hires at least $10 per hour, a 2 percentage point bump from 2012 and up from 2011’s 58 percent.
Overall, 34 percent expect to keep wages between $7.25 and $9.99; 46 percent will hover between $10 and $15.99; 11 percent between $16 and $19.99; and 9 percent will pay out wages at $20 per hour or more.
Small businesses are the largest employer segment in the American economy and it stands to reason much of this summer hiring will take place at smaller firms. Because wages are increasing and small businesses might see cash flow a bit tightened, entrepreneurs can contact National Funding about a merchant cash advance or access to working capital to shore up finances.
