ATLANTA — Companies across metro Atlanta are now hiring thousands of seasonal workers and throwing in more bonuses and benefits as they try to staff up for the holiday season.

Dick’s Sporting Goods is holding its “National Signing Day” Wednesday for 10,000 jobs and hiring many people on the spot.

Retail giant Amazon is also having its “Amazon Career Day” as it plans to hire 125,000 employees with a huge chunk of those job openings in metro Atlanta.

Amazon plans to hire 5,000 workers across metro Atlanta facilities, including 500 at the Stone Mountain distribution center. Amazon pays more than $18 per hour on average.

Kohl’s has hiring events this week with 850 jobs in Georgia and is offering bonuses ranging from $100 to $400.

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As businesses are hoping more people are ready to get back to work, Dr. Thomas Smith with Emory University Business School told Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer the workforce discount is huge.

“The kind of issues we’re having are unprecedented. When employers open up coming out of a recession, people flock and say ‘I want a job. Hire me up, hire me up,’” Smith said. “That’s just not what’s happening here.”

For people who didn’t do regular work during the pandemic but are ready to jump back in, Smith suggests showing employees how you’re ready.

“There’s opportunities in the market right now. If you are responsible, if you respond to emails, if you have a driver’s license without restrictions, you can get a job and people are ready to hire,” he said.

RELATED STORIES

• Fast hiring: Sandy Springs-based UPS to hire 100,000, many in 30 minutes or less
• Amazon set to hire another 125,000 with average starting hourly pay of $18

Analysts say there are a lot of reasons for the hiring crunch, including: uncertainty about COVID-19, family schedules, unemployment benefits and people making changes in the pandemic.

Another trend with companies trying to hire is speeding up the hiring process, so applicants know right away if they got the job.

At Sandy Springs-based UPS, the process is down to 30 minutes. UPS is hiring 100,000 workers nationwide and several thousands in metro Atlanta.

UPS said it pays between $15 per hour and $22 per hour, depending where in the country the job is. In some areas of the country, where it’s tougher to find workers, it offers bonuses that could hike up the hourly rate. Even part-time employees can start earning college expenses and retirement benefits.

The U.S. Postal Service says it needs 40,000 people for the holiday rush. USPS will host 58 hiring fairs in select cities across the country.

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