Tag Archives: hiring

Sierra Trading Post announces opening date in Silverdale

sierratradingpost-logoSierra Trading Post will open its first Washington store at 8 a.m. Oct. 27 in The Trails at Silverdale shopping center. 

The 17,000-square-foot store will offer a wide range of outdoor gear and apparel, according to a news release. Interactive kiosks will allow customers to search the retailer’s in-store and online inventory while shopping.

The store is handing out prizes customers in line early on Oct. 27 and will make a $5,000 donation to Seattle Adaptive Sports.

Sierra Trading Post is hiring full-time and part-time staff Silverdale store. Click here for details.

Central Kitsap is suddenly rich in sporting goods and outdoor stores. DICK’S Sporting Goods opened at Kitsap Mall last week, joining Big 5, REI and Sportsman’s Warehouse in Silverdale.

State predicts an increase in holiday season hiring

The holidays should be brighter this year for seasonal workers in Washington.

State economists predict increased holiday hiring by retailers this fall and winter, after two years of decline.

Employment Security Department projects 12,726 holiday hires statewide in the fourth quarter of 2016, compared with 10,542 in 2015.

The same report forecasts 375 hires in Kitsap county this year, up from 333 last year.

General merchandise stores do the bulk of the hiring.

“Healthier wage growth amidst an improving employment situation should help raise holiday sales to a level that boosts hiring,” Turek said in the release.

2016-holiday-hiring

Fourth quarter retail sales surged in the past few years, but seasonal staffing didn’t followed suit.

Turek told me statewide holiday hiring peaked in 2013 at 16,500. Hires dropped to 14,753 in 2014 and plunged to 10,542 in 2015, falling well short of the state’s forecast.

The decline was partially attributed to retailers moving away from brick-and-mortar storefronts to focus on online sales. Downsizing by food stores like Haggen also took a toll, Turek said.

This year, Turek sees fewer stores restructuring and believes improving employment and wages will bolster seasonal hiring.

Opening date set for DICK’S Sporting Goods in Silverdale

dicksDICK’S Sporting Goods plans to open its Silverdale store by the end of the month.

DICK’S will hold “preview days” on Sept. 28 and 29, followed by a grand opening celebration Sept. 30 through Oct. 2, according to a post the store’s website.

Former Seahawks quarterback Dave Krieg will appear at the store from noon to 2 p.m. Oct. 1. You can click here to see additional grand opening promotions.

The athletic and outdoor gear retailer is setting up shop in a 45,000-square-foot space on the west side of Kitsap Mall. About 30,000 square feet was added to the mall’s footprint to accommodate the store.

DICK’S recently announced it would hire about 70 employees to staff the Silverdale location.

This is the first DICK’S store west of Puget Sound.

DICK’S Sporting Goods hiring in Silverdale

dicksDICK’S Sporting Goods is hiring in Silverdale as it prepares for a September store opening.

The retailer plans to bring on about 70 full- and part-time workers to staff the Kitsap Mall location, according to a news release.

More information about the jobs is available at dickssportinggoods.jobs.

The store will offer clothing and equipment for team sports, fitness, camping, hunting and fishing. The Silverdale location will be one of the first to include a “new and improved footwear section designed to offer a broad selection of sports performance and casual footwear,” according to the release. 

An opening date has not been set.

DICK’S isn’t the only new sporting goods seller coming to town. Sierra Trading Post has been confirmed as a tenant at the nearby Trails at Silverdale shopping center.

Port Orchard Safeway will reopen April 27

0729_KSLO_bethel-copySafeway is hiring 75 employees in Port Orchard as it prepares to reopen its Bethel Road store on April 27, company spokeswoman Tairsa Worman said.

The store was previously operated by Safeway but was acquired by Haggen in early 2015. Haggen declared bankruptcy last fall and closed the Port Orchard location Dec. 5. Albertsons bought the store back from Haggen and returned it to the Safeway banner.

The company is hiring full- and part-time workers for all areas of the store, including deli, meat, customer service, bakery and produce, according to a news release.

Benefits for eligible employees include health care, paid vacation and discounts at Safeway and Albertsons.

Worman said priority is being given to former employees of the store.

News of the Port Orchard store opening was welcomed by UFCW 21, which represents local grocery workers.

“We are looking forward to having this store re-open,” UFCW 21 spokesman Tom Geiger said. “Once store opens, we will get a list of employees from the employer and then come in and sign up members to make sure workers there get all the benefits of having a union grocery job.”

Safeway is holding open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday at the store, at 3355 Bethel Rd. SE. Job seekers can also apply at www.careersatsafeway.com.

Kitsap employment off to strong start in 2016

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Kitsap County started the new year with strong employment and job numbers, according to the state Employment Security Department. 

Jobs in Kitsap

More than 88,100 people worked for employers within Kitsap County in January, according to preliminary estimates. That was an increase of 2,700 from January 2015.

Significant year-over-year gains were reported in both the private and government sectors.

The report also revised job estimates for 2015, reporting an average of 88,500 jobs for Kitsap last year.

Here’s a graphical look at job numbers:

Employment/Unemployment

Overall employment among Kitsap County residents was also better in January than in January 2015.

B0013070067--582128Kitsap’s labor force (the number of people working or actively seeking work) grew by more than 3,000 workers. About 3,700 more residents were employed.

The number of residents reported as unemployed fell to 7,040. The unemployment rate hovered at 5.9 percent (down from 6.4 percent in January 2015.)

The state also posted revised employment numbers for 2015, with more favorable results for Kitsap. Here’s a graphical look at long-term employment trends:

Strong job numbers continued through October

Kitsap entered the holiday hiring season with more jobs than in previous years.

About 88,700 people were working for Kitsap companies in October, according to preliminary numbers from the state Employment Security Office. That was about 1,700 more than were employed in October 2014.

Numbers were up in the private sector, but the public sector posted a bigger gain, with an increase of about 1,200 jobs.

Here’s a graphical look at October job numbers:

Employment/unemployment

Kitsap’s labor force (the total number of residents working or seeking work) remained lower than previous years, but began to climb in October, as is typical for the season.

About 1,250 people entered the workforce between September and October.

Overall employment among Kitsap residents still fell slightly in October, and remains lower than in recent years.

The county’s unemployment rate remained steady at 5 percent.

Here’s a graphical look at employment trends:

Holiday hiring to hold steady despite retail rebound

20101126-174501-pic-346492532_5604183_ver1.0_320_240Kitsap County employers will hire about 420 workers for the holiday season, according to a state estimate.

That would put holiday hiring down slightly from 2014, when Kitsap businesses added 465 in October, November and December.

The Employment Security Department is projecting holiday hiring statewide to be roughly even with 2014. Washington employers hired 14,753 holiday workers last year. The state predicts 15,066 will be hired this year.

“Sales growth, particularly during the holiday season, has remained steady over recent years,” state labor economist Paul Turek said in a news release. “An improving jobs picture has supported consumer spending and should lead to a positive retail season in Washington.”

BFshoppinggetty_1415633215503_9537346_ver1.0_640_480The bulk of the seasonal hiring will be in general merchandise stores, adding 8,064 jobs. Clothing and clothing-accessory stores expect to hire 3,929 holiday workers, according to the department.

Kitsap County has added jobs in recent years. Retail sales have rebounded from the recession.

But if projections hold true, those trends have yet to translate into happier holidays for Kitsap’s under-employed.

In a conversation Thursday, Turek pointed to two factors that may temper holiday hiring.

First, shoppers are more likely to buy online, which lessens the need for actual human beings to run cash registers and stock shelves.

Second, employers have been hiring more workers earlier in the year, which means they are more likely to extend holiday hours for their existing employees rather than hire temporary help.

Here’s a breakdown of holiday hiring projections in Washington (Bremerton = all of Kitsap County):

holiday.hiring

More jobs in Kitsap as summer season arrives

The busy summer hiring season is shaping up to be even busier than usual in Kitsap this year.

About 87,800 people were working for employers within Kitsap County in May, according to statistics from the state Employment Security Department. That was the largest number of jobs reported in the county since July of 2009:

Job levels in the county have been elevated all year. About 2,500 more people were working for Kitsap employers in May 2015 than in May 2014. The private sector accounted for about 1,900 of those added jobs, while 600 came from government agencies.

Employment/Unemployment

While jobs are up in the county, overall employment among Kitsap residents continues to underwhelm.

There was some cause for optimism in May as both the labor force (the number of people working or actively seeking work) and employment ticked up by about 1,200 and 750 respectively.

The jump in jobseekers joining the labor force caused the county’s unemployment rate to climb from 5.4 percent in April to 5.7 percent in May.