Right as home-improvement retailer Lowe's ($LOW) was shedding thousands of employees and right before the company beat second-quarter earnings estimates, it opened up roughly 14,000 positions, most of which were for part-timers. This appears to have been done in two phases: 7,000 openings leading up to the layoff announcement and 7,000 just after. This 240% jump in job openings is one-sided, however: it largely favors part-time workers in a temp-position hiring spree we've never seen at Lowes.

On August 1, 2019, reports came in that Lowe's would be moving to third-party assemblers and facility services to "allow Lowe's store associates to spend more time on the sale floor serving customers." As those positions were eliminated, Lowes opened up thousands others, increasing its open positions between July 1 and August 11 from 5.710 to 19,400 — a hiring uptick of 240%. 

The hiring spree favors part-time workers by a large margin. From July 1 to August 11, part-time openings raced from 861 to 9,310: a 981% increase. In the same period, full-time position job listings grew from 5,200 to 10,100: a 94% jump.

From July 1 to August 11, part-time openings raced from 861 to 9,310: a 981% increase. In the same period, full-time position job listings grew from 5,200 to 10,100: a 94% jump.

This news comes as Lowe's stock is soaring in the glow of second-quarter earnings and revenue estimates that beat Wall Street forecasts. The company reported that same-store sales were up 3.2%, sending Lowe's shares up 12% before the market opened on Wednesday.

The newly in-demand positions are spread across warehouse work as well as customer-facing positions, with Overnight Receiver/Stocker (2,734 part-time openings) and Customer Serivce Associate (1,480 part-time openings) most common. The top-10 in-demand positions are listed in the chart below.

Title

Category

Listings

Overnight Receiver/Stocker

Part time

2,734

Customer Service Associate II

Part time

1,480

Overnight Receiver/Stocker

Full time

997

Customer Service Associate II

Full time

753

Cashier

Part time

664

Receiver/Stocker

Part time

467

Receiver/Stocker

Full time

403

Sales Floor Dept Supervisor

Full time

366

Receiver/Stocker - Overnight

Part time

361

Overnight Operations Department Supervisor

Full time

354

About the Data: 

Thinknum tracks companies using information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales. 

Further Reading: 

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