Christmas casuals begin job search earlier

christmas, tree, airportAustralian job seekers started looking for casual Christmas work in August, a month earlier than the historical pattern of searching in late September and peaking in November, according to data from job site, Indeed.

Indeed reported that this is significantly ahead of company recruiting schedules this year, with many companies not having listed their Christmas casual roles yet.

According to Australian job search and job listings data from August 2014 to September 2015, the retail brands attracting the most interest from job seekers this year are Cotton On, Dusk, Smiggle, Myer and DFO.

Over the Australian summer period, the economy benefits from a 170 per cent increase in casual roles, with the biggest booms coming from retail, representing 87 per cent of the Christmas casual roles listed on Indeed.

Currently Christmas casual job searches outweigh open roles by nearly 140 to 1, meaning that employers can have their pick of the bunch this year. There are more job seekers this year, with searches increasing 257 per cent over last year. Currently there are 5 per cent more casual Christmas roles on the market than 2014, although this is likely to increase further in the run up to Christmas.

Chris McDonald, MD of A/NZ at Indeed, said job hunting begins with search.

“Globally job seekers are looking for more flexibility, and for many Australians, the opportunity of securing a casual job over the Christmas period is a chance to gain important experience and help plan for the year ahead,” McDonald said.

“Young people in particular benefit from casual job opportunities over the summer months, as it gives them the flexibility to earn without having a negative effect on school, college and university work. Older workers also benefit from these roles as they are looking for flexibility in their work commitments.”

Most searched shopping centres:

  1. Highpoint Shopping Centre, Maribyrnong, Victoria
  2. Macarthur Square, Campbelltown, New South Wales
  3. Westfield Fountain Gate, Narre Warren, Victoria
  4. Melbourne Central, Victoria
  5. Chadstone Shopping Centre, Malvern East, Victoria

Most searched suburbs:

  1. Chadstone
  2. Greensborough
  3. Doncaster
  4. Robina
  5. Carindale

Most searched terms:

  1. Part time
  2. Sales assistant
  3. Customer service
  4. Retail assistant
  5. No experience required

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