It’Ll Take A Gift To Recruit Some Holiday Workers

Holiday job opportunities could reach record levels this year, the Employment Policy Foundation says, but filling slots with workers will require “innovation and flexibility in recruiting and scheduling.”

Here, in a nutshell, is how holiday-season job demand stacks up, according to the foundation:

Nearly 2.2 million additional workers will be needed to accommodate job demand during the holiday season.

More than 2.1 million of those jobs will likely be in the services sector, mostly retail. Another 69,000 may be in the manufacturing sector as continuing economic growth drives demand to produce and ship products for the peak holiday buying season.

Consumer spending patterns drive seasonal employment changes, so the largest share of new jobs (380,000) will be in department stores.

Since food is at the center of most holiday celebrations, food store employment is expected to increase by 88,000 jobs. By contrast, employment in eating and drinking establishments is expected to drop by 85,000 jobs from September to December, reflecting the tradition of holiday feasting at home.

Age bias takes holiday

The nation’s strong labor market apparently is working to the advantage of older workers.

Two recent reports on trends in the technology sector support the view that age discrimination has waned as the job market grew tighter.

The first, compiled by the U.S. Chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, is based on telephone interviews with 528 people, including personnel representatives, hiring managers and engineers — above and below age 45.

It concluded that age bias occurs far less frequently than generally believed. Only 10 percent of the workers who reported having bad work experiences in the past five years attributed their troubles to age discrimination.

Meanwhile, a recent report from the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences explored age bias in the tech sector but determined there was not enough evidence to draw meaningful conclusions.

Lost productivity

Workers surveyed by William M. Mercer Inc. said they could, on average, do 26 percent more work. And one-quarter of those polled said they were capable of doing 50 percent more.

Asked why they don’t, the workers most frequently gave these responses:

* Not being involved in decision-making.

* The lack of a reward for good performance.

* No opportunity for advancement.

* A lack of supervision and inadequate training.