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Restaurants gear up for summer hiring season

Ninety-one percent of hourly employers anticipate hiring the same or more workers this summer compared to last year.

April 11, 2016

Ninety-one percent of hourly employers anticipate hiring the same or more workers this summer compared to last year, according to an annual survey released by Snagajob, an hourly employment marketplace. This is a 17-percent increase over 2015 and over 50 percent increase over 2014.

The report, which surveyed hundreds of employers in the restaurant, retail and hospitality industries, also shows an anticipated increase in summer wages. Hourly employers expect the average wage for their 2016 summer hires to be $12.75 per hour. This represents a 10-percent increase over 2015 and a 23-percent increase over the average reported in 2014.

Additionally, the survey shows an increase in the amount of employers that anticipate having their summer positions filled by Memorial Day. Seventy percent of those surveyed expect their summer hiring will be completed in either April or May, whereas only 64 percent anticipated the same last year. This suggests that the vast majority of hiring will occur over the next several weeks.

"The year's survey indicates a lot of summer opportunity for hourly job seekers, but growing challenges for hourly employers," said Peter Harrison, CEO of Snagajob. "With the national unemployment rate below five percent for the first time in eight years, the employee candidate pool is rapidly shrinking. At the same time, the seasonal need for hourly workers has increased. Not only are hourly businesses vying for more employees, but they are also doing more to attract workers, including raising wages and increasing flexibility. A robust summer hiring strategy aimed at quickly hiring quality workers is critical in order to stay competitive and keep up with seasonal consumer demand."

Other key 2016 survey findings include:

• 66 percent of hourly employers anticipate their summer hires will work part time with an average 28-hours per week.
• 66 percent of hourly employers expect to hire a majority of new workers for their open summer positions versus hiring employees they have worked with before.
• Four percent of employers expect getting fewer applicants for their open positions than they did in 2015.
• The majority of employers feel the most difficult part of hiring summer workers is getting quality candidates.
• The most common rewards hourly employers offer to workers include flexible shifts, higher wages and coaching or mentorship opportunities.

Snagajob collected the data via online surveys among hundreds of business that typically hire seasonal hourly employees.