Dive Brief:

• A busy season is on the horizon for e-commerce, shipping and logistics companies, healthcare organizations and financial institutions, according to Randstad US. To meet employer needs, the staffing and consulting firm announced Sept. 17 that it will hire for more than 14,000 seasonal jobs across the country.
• Virtual career fairs in coordination with Randstad locations nationwide will take place September 21-25. The career fairs will "allow individuals to learn more about how their skills can match seasonal opportunities, which could lead to permanent employment," Greg Dyer, president of commercial staffing at Randstad US, said in a statement. 
• In-demand positions include warehouse support, call center and customer service positions, according to Randstad. Recruitment and hiring for the offered jobs will be conducted through December.

Dive Insight:

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies implemented a hiring freeze or reduced hiring, with seasonal workers often the target of such cutbacks. However, some companies operating in essential industries had a need to increase hiring amid the onset.

For example, in March, CVS set a goal of filling 50,000 full-time, part-time and temporary positions across the country through a virtual hiring process. "We realized that we needed to create an accelerated hiring process that allowed us to be able to get support to our front lines quickly and with compassion," Jeffrey Lackey, VP of talent acquisition at CVS Health, told HR Dive in May. 

Other major corporations with essential workers like Walmart and Amazon also increased hiring in March. In addition, Amazon announced in June that hourly associates at designated fulfillment centers who did not have college degrees were eligible to receive training for IT careers.

But employers, in general, may be ending hiring freezes, according to a study. The Manifest, a self-described business news and how-to website, conducted a survey of 500 HR professionals and 234 additional employees. According to the Aug. 20 results, about 60% of the companies represented in the survey hired at least one worker since the pandemic’s onset, and almost half hired 10 or more in the same time period. The survey also found that 61% of HR professionals surveyed said they expect new hires to stay at the company for two or more years.