Key points:

  • Seasonal hiring is gathering pace and is up versus 2022, albeit lagging previous years.
  • Searches for Christmas jobs are up 31% on last year and are running the strongest since 2018. 
  • High street retailers dominate the top hirers for seasonal jobs. 

Seasonal hiring ahead of the festive period is well under way. Holiday hiring typically begins in August, picks up throughout September and October and reaches a peak in November, well before Christmas arrives. Seasonal hiring efforts are running stronger this year than last, but below years prior to 2022. Jobseeker interest in seasonal work is looking particularly healthy, pacing the strongest in the past five years.

Christmas hiring is gathering pace

Holiday hiring is ramping up in line with the usual autumn seasonal pattern. As of 13 October, 0.6% of all jobs published on Indeed in the UK were holiday jobs. The share of Christmas job postings is up versus the same time in 2022 (when many businesses had already been hiring at pace for some time as the economy bounced back from the pandemic). But it’s running below where it was in the four years prior to that. There’s still some time for it to catch up (holiday hiring normally peaks in early November), though the current trend suggests employers may be a little more cautious amid economic uncertainty and expectations of slow economic growth. 

Line chart showing the UK seasonal hiring trend in 2023 versus 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Seasonal hiring is currently pacing the strongest of the past six years. 
Line chart showing the UK seasonal hiring trend in 2023 versus 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Seasonal hiring is currently pacing the strongest of the past six years. 

Searches up from pandemic lows

Searches for seasonal jobs are also running at a decent clip, pacing the strongest since pre-pandemic. As of 13 October, searches for Christmas jobs were up 31% on the previous year. In fact, they are pacing at the strongest level since 2018 (3% below the level of 13 October 2018). Cost of living pressures may be one factor supporting robust jobseeker interest in seasonal work, as more people may be looking to earn some extra money to help pay the bills over the festive period which is often the most expensive time of year. 

Line chart showing the trend in seasonal job searches in 2023 versus 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Searches for seasonal work are pacing the strongest since 2018. 
Line chart showing the trend in seasonal job searches in 2023 versus 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Searches for seasonal work are pacing the strongest since 2018. 

Who is hiring?

High street retailers dominate seasonal postings. The top ten businesses by volume of seasonal job postings include retailers of greetings cards, homeware, cosmetics, perfume, jewellery, food & drink and clothing.  

Table titled “Retail employers underpin seasonal hiring”. This table orders the top companies for Christmas job postings between August 1, 2023 and October 13, 2023. 
Table titled “Retail employers underpin seasonal hiring”. This table orders the top companies for Christmas job postings between August 1, 2023 and October 13, 2023. 

Conclusion

Seasonal hiring is picking up and is pacing stronger this year than in 2022. However, it’s running below the pace seen in the four years prior to that, suggesting employers may be somewhat cautious about Christmas trading this year. Jobseeker interest in holiday roles meanwhile is running notably strong, which bodes well for employers looking to fill the roles. 

Methodology

We define seasonal job postings as those with one or more holiday-related terms in the job title, including, but not limited to, “holiday,” “seasonal,” and “Christmas.” Seasonal job searches are defined as those containing one or more of the same list of holiday-related terms.