Job hunters looking for work during the holidays may have better luck delivering merchandise bought online than helping shoppers find the perfect gift.

Shipping companies and e-commerce warehouses say they plan to hire thousands of workers in the Chicago area ahead of the holiday rush. Retailers are staffing up, too, but some say more of those jobs will be behind the scenes, handling online orders.

Few chains have shared details about how many employees they need in stores. They may be waiting to get a better feel for how the season will unfold, said Andy Challenger, vice president at Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“It’s a really uncertain environment. Unemployment is high … and there’s a concern that consumer spending could be down, on top of the fact that bricks-and-mortar retailers are facing issues with people being scared to come into the shops,” he said.

While some jobs have come back, unemployment remains high: 12.6% in the Chicago area last month, compared with 3.8% in August 2019. The $600-a-week federal unemployment benefit that was part of the coronavirus stimulus package has expired, and while Illinois received a grant to extend benefits at $300 a week, proposals for additional federal aid remain stalled in Congress.

Layoffs and pay cuts mean there are more people looking for work this holiday season than in years past, but companies competing for large numbers of workers to handle online orders still could face recruiting challenges, Challenger said.

Warehouses tend to cluster near cities where they compete for employees. Some warehouse jobs also require different skills than a traditional cashier job, like the ability to lift heavy items or experience with technology or power equipment like forklifts and pallet jacks.

“Even though tons of salespeople and cashiers lost jobs, they don’t always have the skill sets companies need in the back of the house,” he said.

The companies recruiting holiday help include:

Amazon recently announced plans to hire 5,600 workers at facilities in the Chicago area and 100,000 nationwide.

Walmart plans to hire 20,000 seasonal employees to work in its fulfillment centers. The company said it has already hired more than 500,000 people since March.

Macy’s and J.C. Penney are also hiring warehouse workers: 25,000 and 1,700, respectively. None of J.C. Penney’s facilities are in Illinois. Macy’s has a distribution center in Minooka and said it plans to begin hiring for positions in stores soon.

Target said it expects to hire a similar number of employees for the holiday season as last year, but more of them will work in the company’s warehouses. In stores, Target plans to double the number of employees preparing online orders for curbside or in-store pickup.

1-800-Flowers.com is looking for more than 10,000 seasonal employees across its food and gift brands, including 3,000 in Bolingbrook, Lake Forest and Melrose Park. Most of those jobs are related to producing and filling orders.

Best Buy and Kohl’s said they are hiring seasonal workers but did not share specific hiring targets.

Radial, a company that handles online orders for brands including Ashley Stewart and Payless, plans to hire 25,000 people during the holidays, up from about 21,000 in prior years, including 400 at its fulfillment center in Romeoville.

The shipping companies that deliver those purchases are hiring, too. UPS plans to hire more than 3,270 in the Chicago area, including 1,060 package handlers, 690 drivers and 1,520 driver helpers. Rival FedEx plans to hire more than 3,000 part-time workers at Chicago-area FedEx Ground facilities. Shipping service DHL is hiring 150 people to work at its Chicago-area distribution center and added temporary space to make sure it can handle the expected increase in shipments over the holidays.

lzumbach@chicagotribune.com

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