Jessica Miller is familiar with the annual routine of bringing aboard extra help for the holiday shopping season.

Miller is senior vice president for human resources at Boscov’s, which is looking to hire more than 1,500 seasonal associates across its 51 locations, including Lehigh Valley and Palmer Park malls. Berks County-based Boscov’s already has had two job fairs and has one more scheduled for Nov. 4 at all stores.

“We’ve had some good results from those first two fairs,” Miller said. “At this point, we’ve hired probably about half of the individuals that we will expect to hire. Knock on wood, things are going pretty well from that perspective.”

Hiring holiday help is a tradition for retail, and those who deliver the products, that goes along with the changing leaves in the Lehigh Valley and beyond. However, while Boscov’s is reporting a normal uptick in seasonal help, some of its competitors may be holding back a bit this year, according to Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., which aids workers with job searches.

In a news release, Challenger said hiring has been limited so far this year, with only a handful of companies making public commitments to hire holiday staff. It expects retailers to add fewer than 500,000 positions in the last three months of the year, making it the smallest seasonal gain since 2009.

“Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“While we could see a late hiring push if holiday sales surprise to the upside, the cautious pace of announcements so far suggests that companies are not betting on a big seasonal surge. This year may be more about doing more with less,” he said.

Several companies have yet to announce their plans for the holidays, while others are taking a different approach. Target said it will offer current employees additional hours, while making use of its on-demand team that picks up shifts. The big box store, which has four Lehigh Valley locations, also said it will hire some seasonal employees, though it didn’t say how many.

Miller said Boscov’s would continue offering part-time employees extra hours during the season. With extended hours, any extra help is appreciated.

“We are looking forward to having extra sets of hands, as we have merchandise coming in and needing to take care of our additional customer traffic that we anticipate,” she said.

The National Retail Federation says it expects average holiday spending to go down, but only by 1.3%. It predicted consumers will spend an average of $890.40 per person, which is the second-highest number in the 23 years the NRF has surveyed consumer holiday spending.

Logistics companies

One company that announced its staffing plans is logistics company Geodis, which has five warehouses across the Lehigh Valley.

Geodis said it is hiring 195 seasonal workers in the Valley to support an anticipated surge in demand during peak season. Nationwide, it plans to hire 4,600 for the holidays. Positions include material handlers and equipment operators.

“The trust our customers place in us to deliver exceptional service is never more critical than during peak season,” said Anthony Jordan, Geodis in Americas executive vice president and chief operating officer. “By expanding our workforce by more than 4,600 seasonal employees, we can ensure we have a flexible and robust team that is ready when demand is at its highest and our customers need us most.”

Another company with a big warehouse presence in the Valley, Amazon, is planning to fill 250,000 positions nationwide. It’s the same amount as last year and includes more than 11,000 in Pennsylvania. Seasonal employees can earn more than $19 per hour and available roles will be posted weekly through December.

Like in the retail sector, Challenger is predicting a downturn in logistics hiring as companies lean on automation, flexible schedules and year-round staff to meet demand. For instance, UPS is declining to announce how many seasonal employees it plans to hire this year.

“Companies have been steadily restructuring their workforces this year, with a sharper focus on efficiency and technology,” Challenger said. “The traditional seasonal spike in warehousing and shipping jobs is no longer as pronounced, and that shift could be permanent.”

Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at ejones@mcall.com.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/10/27/holiday-jobs-may-be-hard-to-find-this-year-heres-why/