United Parcel Service Inc. will hire 55,000 seasonal workers across the United States to deal with an expected 6% spike in holiday week delivery volume. According to The Atlanta Business Chronicle, the seasonal workers will serve as driver helpers, package sorters, loaders and unloaders. Last year, UPS hired about 50,000 temporary workers to handle the Christmas volume.
Package handlers work three- to five-hour shifts around the clock inside the UPS facilities while helpers work a full eight-hour day riding on the trucks with UPS drivers to make deliveries.
FedEx announced last month it also is planning to step up hiring in advance of an expected 10 percent year-over-year increase in holiday shipping volume. It expects to add 20,000 employees to its rolls during the holiday season, helping to move more than 17 million shipments—almost double its daily average volume on Dec. 12, the projected busiest day in company history.
These projections match reports of rising consumer spending anticipation. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) recently reported that consumer confidence in technology reached its highest level of the year in October. The CEA Indexes also show that confidence in the overall economy improved last month as well.
The CEA Index of Consumer Technology Expectations (ICTE) rose nearly eight points, reaching 89.6. That's the highest level since December 2010, according to the CEA. The ICTE, which measures consumer expectations for technology spending, is also up more than 10 points from this time last year.
