Fewer workers apply for warehouse jobs

As Amazon, Walmart, Target and many other companies opened hundreds of positions for warehouse jobs with competitive wages, benefits and perks, these jobs were meant to be the future of the retail industry. However, the industry is now facing another problem. Fewer people have been applying to these positions and far too few people are willing to take on the grueling jobs. This is a sign that the job market is facing unexpected trends. Workers are reconsidering the type of positions they want to work in, not just in the retail sector but across all sectors in the country. 

Sabrina Wnorowski, vice president of HR at Radial which operates fulfillment centers for brands such as Cole Haan, Aeropostale and the Children’s Place said that every year it gets harder and it gets more challenging to attract workers. She said that the company has been offering daily raffles with prizes like iPads, Playstations and throwing parties and on-site food trucks in an attempt to attract 27,000 warehouse workers this year. "Given high unemployment, you’d expect that it would be easy to attract labor. But it’s been the opposite", she says. The warehouse industry has already cycled through millions of workers and many say that they would not return to warehouse jobs ever again. Laboe economists say that this is creating a new challenge for retailers to fill crucial jobs like loading and unloading trucks, picking, delivering orders and such. The workers' shortage could also affect the retailers' performance during the holiday season in addition to other issues like with supply chain hiccups, delays in deliveries and out-of-stock products. 

Source: The Washington Post