Businesses look to hire during the holidays, but jobs might look different

The pandemic has forced many people out of work, but new opportunities will be available with businesses reopening ahead of the holidays to meet shifting shopping trends.

Businesses and customers are very optimistic that there will be enough holiday jobs for everyone, even though the jobs might look different.

“I’m guilty to a lot of online shopping, which is not good,” Lauren Calise said. “I know a lot of people need retail jobs right now and are out of jobs, so I feel for them.”

Calise is looking for a job herself. With the pandemic making online shopping take off for most businesses, the question is will people be hiring for holiday jobs?

“We aren’t hiring any less than we have in the past,” said Cheryl Velasquez with De Romo’s Gourmet Market & Restaurant.

Velaquez says they expect to be busy during the holidays at De Romo’s. It might look different than most years, but they are making sure their online orders and pickup positions are fully staffed.

“We have a lot of online ordering,” Velasquez said. “We are specifically hiring for what I’ve called a personal shopper, fill the order and take care of our customers.”

We reached out to the Miramar Outlets in Estero. They tell us the outdoor mall has not planned holiday staff and don’t know what the season will look like yet.

Stores such as Marshalls and Ross told us they are still hiring and many positions are open.

Nina Morris says this new way of shopping will be a perfect opening for more jobs.

“I feel like it could go both ways, stuff like in store, like cashier jobs will hurt, but at the same time, it could open positions for like monitoring the online shopping experience,” Morris said.