The employment rate is expected to be much higher this season than last year at the same time. The reasons for this is because there have been many new job openings for retail companies, factories, and centers that distribute products. CareerLink, a website that helps people find employment, has proven that there have been more job openings and opportunities this year compared to last year.

The administrator for the CareerLink website, Michael Bakaysa, has said, “I have seen an improvement in the number of openings that we received.” When speaking about the improvement with job openings, he also says, “We’ve been tracking all kinds of jobs and there has been steady growth every month. I’m very confident that it’s a better market out there right now.”

With an increase in jobs come an increase in the need for employees. This is great for the many unemployed people all over the United States. In fact, in the Scranton area alone, the unemployment rate is at a whopping 9.7 percent which is definitely not its lowest.

Many different companies are hiring employees for seasonal work. Because these stores become extremely busy during the holiday season, extra employees are a necessity to ensure that everything is operated properly and that the consumers are satisfied. This is a great way for some people to find work, even if it is only a seasonal position. The distribution center for Amazon.com in the Hazleton area will be hiring more than 1,000 people for employment this season.

Best of all, the amount of money that employees earn for each hour worked is well above the minimum wage limit. One reason that the website needs more employees is because so many people order presents and other products online instead of going out to the stores. Online shopping is mostly convenient for the consumers but because more consumers are online shopping, more employees are needed which is great news for unemployed individuals.

Aside from Amazon.com, there are several other companies that are looking to hire employees for the holiday season. Some of these companies include popular retail stores like Toys R Us. FedEx is also hiring extra employees to handle packages during the holiday seasons. All of these companies that are hiring employees for the holiday season are offering more than minimum wage per hour. This is nothing but positive news especially for an area with such a high unemployment rate at this point.

The President and CEO of the National Retail Foundation spoke out about the new job openings that are available for the season and says, “The hundreds of thousands of jobs created during the holiday season help people support their families by supplementing their household income and providing generous employee discounts.”