Christmas is a wonderful time of the year – not just for family, food and holiday purposes but finding fun casual or summertime work. 

While some industries slow down as we head towards the end of the year, for others it’s peak business time. What does peak business time mean? More staff and team members. 

Here are the top industries that will be looking to hire over the Christmas and summer period.

1) Food and food product services

If there’s one thing people buy a lot of at Christmas, it’s food.

The food industry sees a boom over Christmas – including supermarkets, restaurants, cafes, takeaways, and all food product, preparation and delivery-related services. Supermarkets especially look to ensure they’re well-staffed from the stock team to the customer service team – plus Woolworths and Coles have both been hiring during and throughout the pandemic.

If you’ve wanted to work somewhere in the food industry, the end of year could be a great time to get started.

2) Retail and warehouses

Gift-giving = peak time for retail. The entire industry – both online and in-store – see an increase during the silly season which often results in a large number of retailers hiring Christmas casuals.

Keep in mind that retail doesn’t always mean customer assistant on the shop floor – it includes warehouse packaging, customer care emails or call centres, administration support etc. As people start to buy online more and more, the demand on warehouse teams increases, creating more job opportunities.

3) Transport and delivery services

A flow on from the increase in food and retail sales is an increase in transport and delivery services. Throughout the year, there has been a strong demand for drivers, including delivery and truck drivers, that’s expected to continue.

In addition, as more people are out and about over the summer and holiday period, it also means more demand for a variety of public and private transport. With restrictions eased across the country, it’s expected that many will be traveling and holidaying over the summer period, bolstering the need for transport.

4) Postal services

There also continues to be a huge demand on our postal and delivery services as a result of COVID. Combine that with the additional normal increases over Christmas as gifts and cards are sent across the country, and our postal services will be stretched and likely adding more team members to their workforce.

5) Healthcare services

While not particularly Christmas related, the pandemic has left a big demand and back log on a range of our health services. As businesses try to conquer the backlog and get back on top of demand, there can be opportunities for new team members.

Existing staff also often take leave over the Christmas period and even with reduced hours, healthcare services can be looking for temps – a great way to get your foot in the door.

6) Aged care or support services

This time of year can be lonely for some people, particularly senior citizens in home or aged care who don’t have family or family nearby. Visits, respite and support work available may increase over the holiday period to keep up with the need.

As with healthcare, there’s also often an increase in leave, meaning there could be temporary holiday cover positions that could lead to more long term opportunities.

Looking to find work over Christmas or summer? Get in touch with our Jobedge team to find specific opportunities.