Retail and other similar employer segments may have good reason to feel stressed, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail forecast, which predicts that seasonal retail sales are likely to increase just 4%-6% in 2022, equating to $1.45 to $1.47 trillion from November to January. That’s significantly less than growth during the same period in 2021, when sales grew by 15.1%, according to Deloitte.

Among the largest employers, Walmart recently announced hiring plans for 40,000 seasonal workers, down significantly from the 150,000 temporary workers the company announced last year. Still, e-commerce giant Amazon is hiring 150,000 seasonal workers, the same as last year—perhaps reflecting the difference between online and brick-and-mortar retail entities.

“The lower projected growth for the 2022 holiday season reflects the slowdown in the economy this year,” says Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s U.S. economic forecaster. “Retail sales are likely to be further affected by declining demand for durable consumer goods, which had been the centerpiece of pandemic spending.”

But while the economy may be slowing hiring, it’s also widening the talent pool of those seeking seasonal work, which could be a boon to employers and talent leaders looking to grow their talent pools for the long term.

A survey from Monster.com this month found that 73% of workers polled say they need additional income due to inflation and other economic conditions and that almost half (47%) plan to work at least two jobs this year as a result.

The reasons? money for holiday gifts (44%); turn the gig into a full-time role (36%); develop skills (34%) or even for the employee discount (22%). Despite the need, few are feeling highly confident (23%) and 27% haven’t been able to find those second and even third jobs so far—pointing to the notion that employers are hesitant about holiday hiring.

Read the full report here