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Looking to earn extra cash this holiday season? Opportunities are sparse, but available

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Looking to earn extra cash this holiday season? Opportunities are sparse, but available

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With leaves falling and temperatures dropping, the holiday season is in full swing.

As families gather to spend time with one another, businesses are preparing their stores and bringing on more associates to accommodate the influx of holiday shoppers.

If you’re looking to earn a bit of cash on the side with a seasonal job in the Pensacola area, you’ll have to compete for a handful of opportunities across different companies.

Most employers in our area have finished their seasonal hiring by this point, according to LandrumHR, a professional employer organization that provides multiple services to businesses including staffing and recruiting.

“As we hit the middle of November, most companies have fulfilled the majority of their holiday workforce needs,” Ildi Hosman, LandrumHR’s director of public relations and internal communications, said in an email to the News Journal. “For example, FedEx hired some full-time folks who will stay on through the holidays and likely beyond. Amazon has hired flexible workers, who may also stay on after the holidays. Target seems to be mostly done with seasonal hiring.”

Hosman also told the News Journal that Landrum has seen both seasonal and overall hiring trend downward throughout the year.

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Between September 2023 and September 2024, the Pensacola Metropolitan area saw a 1.8% increase in private sector and government jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

Data gathered by Indeed, a global job board that many companies use to post their open positions, shows that job postings for Christmas or seasonal employment have returned to their pre-pandemic levels as more people are looking for those roles.

Seasonal postings nationwide are 0.5% higher than they were last year, but searches for them are 18% above their figure last year as well, according to Indeed, thus creating a competitive market for seasonal job seekers.

In early October, Amazon announced that it’d be hiring 250,000 workers across full time, part time and seasonal roles for the customer fulfillment and transportation operations sectors of the company, however, Amazon has already hired up for this season and doesn’t have any opportunities available locally.

Other companies, such as Walmart, have moved away from the seasonal hiring practice. Since 2022, the retail giant has opted instead to offer extra holiday shifts to existing employees.

“Similar to last year we did not make a holiday hiring announcement. We have been hiring throughout the year and are staffed and ready to serve customers this holiday season,” a Walmart spokesperson told the News Journal through email. “Additionally, our associates have asked us for the opportunity to first pick up extra hours over the holidays if they are interested. If any store has additional staffing needs after that, they will hire on a store-by-store basis.”

Similarly, companies like Fedex have addressed their seasonal needs already, but they could still hire candidates in the upcoming months as they still plan to add to their workforce in the upcoming months. At the time of writing, they’re looking to hire a part-time package handler for their warehouse on North W Street.

Many seasonal positions are recurring, so if you’re too late for a role this year then stay on the lookout for another opportunity next year. And there are a handful of seasonal opportunities available at local businesses.

Seasonal jobs in the Pensacola area

If you’re in urgent need of employment or cash in the short term, browse the careers section of company websites and check with local businesses for potential staffing vacancies that may not be available online.

Whether it’s a brand-new business or a local staple like the Pensacola Ice Flyers, there’s still some places looking for helping hands during this season.

Bailey’s Produce & Nursery, for example, is looking to hire seasonal tree workers to help with their Christmas tree sales, according to co-owner Alison Thero.

Thero told the News Journal that those interested in joining the team for that role can stop by the market at 4301 N. Davis Highway to put in an application for consideration.

Total Wine & More in Cordova Commons is on the lookout for seasonal help too.

They’ve hired more than five seasonal associates already, according to manager Hunter Burney, but are still trying to bring on as many seasonal workers as possible for daytime and evening shifts during the holidays.

“(Seasonal help) is beneficial because it gets us through our busiest time of the year. We push a lot of product out in that time,” Burney said.

A few retail chains that traditionally have seasonal roles, such as Target, Kohl’s and Burlington, still have seasonal positions up for grabs in our area but they’re scarce.

And more permanent positions could pop up as stores like Floor & Decor and Wawa open their doors to the public in upcoming months.

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