Seasonal hiring signals are mixed ahead of the 2026 US holiday shopping period: job postings have risen from a year earlier, but major employers are taking different approaches to staffing.

Key Takeaways

  • Seasonal job postings were up 10% from 2025 as of September 30, according to Indeed Hiring Lab.
  • Amazon plans to employ more than 300,000 workers ahead of peak shopping, while UPS aims to hire 100,000 seasonal employees.

Seasonal hiring plans diverge

Amazon said on October 20 that it plans to employ more than 300,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers ahead of the peak shopping period. In 2025, the company pledged 250,000 holiday jobs.

UPS announced on October 7 that it would hire 100,000 seasonal employees in 2026, nearly 10% below its 2025 holiday hiring target. Target said it would lean on its existing workforce before looking for seasonal hires and did not announce a headcount.

Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said he does not expect an explosive seasonal hiring year like 2021 or 2022. He added that Amazon’s announcement gave him reason to be somewhat more positive than he had been.

ItemDetails
AmazonPlans to employ more than 300,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers ahead of peak shopping.
UPSPlans to hire 100,000 seasonal employees in 2026.
Spirit HalloweenSaid on June 11 it would hire 52,000 employees.
MichaelsPlans to onboard more than 10,000 holiday workers.

Warehouse roles gain share

Indeed Hiring Lab’s October 15 report found that seasonal job postings as of September 30 were up 10% from the same period in 2025. Its researchers searched Indeed and other job boards for roles with a holiday-related descriptor in the title. Experts said non-retail jobs were driving the growth.

Retail accounted for 61% of seasonal work opportunities, down from around 66% in 2019, according to Indeed. Loading and stocking roles rose to 9% of holiday listings from 3.5% in 2019.

Indeed research director Laura Ullrich said retailers are also posting more permanent part-time jobs in place of seasonal roles. Meanwhile, desktop searches on Indeed for seasonal and holiday terms were up 28% in 2026 against 2025 search data.

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