Every December, retailers hire a large number of extra workers to keep up with holiday demand. Our FRED graph above shows a clear seasonal spike in the number of retail employees at the end of the year, as stores bring on temporary and part-time workers to stock shelves, run registers, and load presents. Hiring picks up in November, peaks in December, and then falls once the holidays are over.

Our second FRED graph shows average hourly earnings for retail workers. Even though more “elves” are on the job than at any other time of year, average hourly earnings in retail often dip a bit in December. That doesn’t necessarily mean these workers are getting a pay cut. It’s likely that holiday hiring brings in seasonal workers who tend to earn lower wages than permanent, full-time staff. So, when you average all workers in December, the seasonal workers bring the average wage down.

How these graphs were created: For the first graph, search FRED for “All Employees, Retail Trade” and select the Monthly, Thousands of Persons, Not Seasonally Adjusted series. For the second graph, search FRED for “All Employees, Retail Trade” and select the Monthly, Dollars per Hour, Not Seasonally Adjusted series. Finally, start the sample period on 2020-11-01 for both graphs.

Suggested by Bill Dupor and Melanie LeTourneau.