As unemployment rates continue to decline and online shopping becomes the go-to option for consumers, freelancers should have a wealth of jobs available to them during the holidays.
According to The Detroit News, the nature of jobs needing to be filled this holiday season is much different than in the past. These days, fewer retail positions are available while the demand for drivers, loaders, and sorters has never been higher.
Online shopping is the primary reason for this global shift in employment trends, and the substantial increase in deliveries has left major companies like Amazon, FedEx, and UPS with a dearth of qualified employees.
In fact, Amazon is set to hire a whopping 25% more workers this holiday season than it did last year, with UPS looking to add upwards of 90,000 employees before the holiday rush hits. This should make it easier for freelancers to make some extra cash during the holidays, especially considering how far unemployment rates have fallen in recent years.
Since freelancers can often set their own schedule for their “day jobs,” it’s even easier for them to pick up some part-time, seasonal work.
It seems as if just about everyone has left the days of rabid Black Friday crowds behind them, instead opting to shop online where they’re privy to the same deals as those who wait in line for hours. Even artwork is being primarily purchased online now, and over 71% of art collectors have purchased some form of art on the internet.
Whether it’s a Monet masterpiece or a monogram makeup bag, consumers are taking full advantage of online shopping’s incomparable convenience. According to Marketing Land, approximately 27% of Black Friday sales in 2014 were made from mobile devices, and this doesn’t even include purchases made on desktop computers.
The National Retail Federation projects that 46.1% of all holiday sales this year will be made online, up from 44.4% in 2014. In total, retailers are expected to add about 755,000 jobs across the country, which makes it a bullish employment market for freelancers.