Wonolo
We are excited to announce the release of our annual 2020 Holiday Season Forecast. In this report, we take a deeper look at some of the current work-related trends happening around the country, including:
- The “K-shaped recovery” and associated industries. Which types of businesses are recovering? Which workers? Who is being left behind?
- E-commerce, which has been impacted by huge customer behavior shifts in the past six months. How can e-commerce businesses prepare for the holiday season? Will there be a true Black Friday, or will peak periods come at different times this year?
- What the businesses and workers utilizing our platform (or Wonoloers, as we call them) are saying. What is on their minds as we approach the holiday season? How have their businesses changed this year? Are different industries and regions being impacted in the same way? Check out the full forecast for insights into these and more topics.
COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every industry across the U.S. and the rest of the world. We all know that the landscape this year may look very different from what we were dealing with in the 2019 holiday season. In a recent survey of businesses that use Wonolo:
- 69% reported that COVID-19 had impacted their businesses negatively
- 9% reported no impact
- 22% reported a positive impact
Hiring Uncertainty Remains
Last year, unemployment rates were at record lows, and many companies had difficulty connecting with workers willing to provide short-term assistance. But as we all know, the landscape has changed drastically in 2020.
The unemployment rate was 7.9% as of October 1, 2020, down from a record high of 14.7% in April. It stands to reason that companies will have greater demand for job openings, but it remains to be seen if that will translate to easy hiring, or if the struggles of previous years will remain.
Industry Outlook
There has been a lot of talk lately about a “K-shaped economic recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic. Essentially that means that some industries are recovering or even doing better than before the pandemic, while others are stagnating or being left behind. As a result, many of the ultra wealthy have gotten wealthier while many low-wage earners continue to be negatively impacted.
Some of the industries that have recovered well include technology, retail, and software services. We have seen this trend in Wonolo’s own data as well. Compared to last year, we experienced a 475% increase in advance job postings for the general labor, merchandising, and fulfillment/warehousing categories. All of these categories translate to retail and e-commerce demand.
Check Out the 2020 Holiday Season Job Forecast Now
I hope you enjoy our 2020 Holiday Season Forecast and gain some insight into the issues and trends facing us this year. From all of us at Wonolo, we wish you a safe, healthy, and happy holiday season.
