In tight labor market, Kohl's to increase seasonal hires to 90,000 and touts perks they'll receive

Amid a tight labor market and brightening retail prospects, Kohl’s Corp. is boosting its seasonal hiring target and touting its perks to attract holiday workers.

The Menomonee Falls-based company, which runs about 1,150 department stores across the country, previously had stood mum on how many temps it intends to take on for the critical holiday shopping season.

But with national unemployment just under 4 percent and increased challenges landing workers, Kohl’s decided to go public with its plans.

The retailer expects to hire some 90,000 seasonal workers this year, up nearly a third from the 69,000 it announced for 2016 — the last year Kohl’s disclosed a seasonal hiring number.

And the company is letting potential employees know that they’ll be able to buy anything in the stores at 35 percent off for a few days in the heart of the holiday shopping season.

That discount isn't new. Kohl's has been doing it for several years, a spokeswoman acknowledged when asked. What's different this year is that the firm is promoting the perk.

The company’s new approach is playing out as nationwide job openings in the relatively low-paying retail sector have jumped significantly, as might be expected at a time when low unemployment widens the array of opportunities for workers.

In percentage terms, the year-over-year increase in retail openings from January through July far outpaced the increase in the private sector overall, data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show.

“It’s very competitive,” retail analyst Brian Yarbrough, who follows Kohl’s for Edward Jones, said of the hiring environment.

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Last week, Target Corp. announced plans to hire 120,000 seasonal workers — up from 100,000 last year — and pay them at least $12 an hour.

Target last month reported particularly strong second-quarter results, with traffic surging and sales at established stores up 6.5 percent, the firm’s biggest increase in 13 years.

Kohl’s also had a strong quarter — comparable-store sales increased by 3.1 percent — as did Walmart, where comparable-store sales rose by 4.5 percent.

“I think these executives feel good,” Yarbrough said. “I think they’re seeing one of the better consumer spending environments we’ve seen in a long time.”

Higher seasonal hiring numbers probably reflect such sentiment in the executive suites, Yarbrough said. But, he added, “a lot of things can happen between now and holiday.”

Ever-present in the minds of traditional retailers, of course, are the challenges posed by online giant Amazon, which has upended much of the brick-and-mortar world. But the current outlook appears to be relatively sunny, and merchants are turning their attention to making sure they have enough labor to staff their stores.

Kohl’s began hiring seasonal workers in late June, the company’s earliest start ever, according to Executive Vice President of Human Resources Ryan Festerling, who offered new detail this week on the hiring plans.

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Kohl's wanted an early start in part because of the competitive labor market, he said, but also to provide adequate time to integrate new hires as the firm works on new approaches to staffing.

Beyond the 35 percent employee discount days, Kohl’s plans to try to keep employees engaged during the bustling holiday season with measures such as gift-card contests for perfect attendance, food brought into the stores and incentives for working on key days such as Black Friday, Festerling said.

Unlike Target, Kohl’s doesn’t disclose a minimum wage.

“We just have a completely different philosophy and strategy as it relates to that,” Festerling said.

He said Kohl’s sets starting and average wages by individual market and store. The minimum is above $12 at some stores and lower at others, he said.

“It’s never one thing” that attracts good workers, Festerling said.

Yarbrough, for his part, thinks the wage rate may not be the most important factor to seasonal employees at Kohl’s.

“I think the perks they’re going to offer are probably a bigger deal,” he said.