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This year, millions of people will be out of work in our country. And millions more will be looking for work. Both hard working American families and the economy-at-large will benefit from putting people to work in retail as opposed to having to wait for someone to be laid off.
Not that there’s anything wrong with laying people off. We are a business in a hard, but necessary, business. But we also know from long experience that temporary workers are preferable.
We hear time and again from our customers — women, men, families — that there aren’t enough employees at retail stores or restaurants to meet customer demand. And to fill the gaps, we tend to hire people we know.
That’s why on Black Friday, starting at 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, we’ll be hiring nearly 7,000 workers from Boston, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Rhode Island, and other cities across Connecticut. When things are slow and the crowds get bigger, we bring temporary workers into stores to help fill the voids.
But all too often when we talk to folks about the Thanksgiving holiday as a shopping opportunity, they say, “It’s not the end of the year. It’s just the beginning of the season.” And while our holiday schedules are certainly flexible, we’re not the only ones adjusting.
It’s a tough time for everybody. There are fewer Americans working and a lot of them are starting the year out in bad shape. Some are furloughed, others are surviving on part-time work, and yet others are faced with having to rely on food pantries.
Those of us who do have jobs are grateful for a job that pays an adequate salary. We also know that our customers — many of whom need our help this holiday season — are grateful that we’re hiring.
It’s why we believe the Thanksgiving holiday can be the start of a better year for all. We’re here to help make it happen.