How Target Prepares for the Holidays: Full-Time Team, 43,000 Flexible Workers, and Seasonal Hires

Target’s seasonal holiday hiring for 2026 follows a clear order: first, the company offers more hours to its current employees, then it relies on about 43,000 flexible workers, and finally, it hires seasonal staff based on demand in each area, according to the company. In the Atlanta area, this last step means 2,300 positions with pay of $15 to $24 per hour.

• Target has more than 2,000 stores and over 60 distribution centers in the United States, and about 415,000 employees.
• Its starting pay ranges from $15 to $24 per hour, a rate that has been in place for at least three fiscal years, and the average pay for its store and distribution workers increased from $17.87 to $19.03 per hour between fiscal years 2023 and 2025, according to the company.
• According to Target, more than half of its seasonal store employees stayed with the company after last year’s holidays.

Why it matters: year-end hiring is a barometer of the economy. It shows how much stores expect to sell and how many job opportunities open up for families, including many Latino families, during the months when the most is spent.

Target’s Model: First, Its Own Team

Target explains that it starts with the employees it already has. It offers extra hours to those who want them and then calls on its «On Demand» team, a group of nearly 43,000 store workers who choose shifts that fit their schedule. After that, it hires seasonal staff in its stores and distribution centers, based on local demand.

Most seasonal positions are in stores: restocking merchandise, organizing clothing departments, working at checkout lanes, and preparing online orders. In distribution centers, the work involves getting products to stores and customers. When the holidays are over, seasonal store employees can request to join the «On Demand» team, according to the company.

“Our team is what makes the holidays at Target so special. We want our employees to feel supported and prepared to do their best, so they can focus on creating an easy, inspiring, and friendly experience for our guests. Whether someone joins for a season or makes a career at Target, there are opportunities to learn, grow, and make a difference as part of the Target team,” said Emily Hebert, senior vice president of field human resources and operations at Target, in a statement shared with MundoNow (translation by MundoNow).

What Target Pays and Offers

• Starting pay: $15 to $24 per hour for its hourly employees in the United States, including seasonal workers, depending on the position and location.
• Benefits from day one: 24-hour virtual medical care, eight free mental health support sessions and eight more for guidance, backup childcare when regular care falls through, and early access to pay.
• Discounts: 10% in stores and on Target.com, plus 20% on some wellness products and on clothing and accessories from its own brands.
• For career employees: a 401(k) retirement plan in which the company contributes a dollar for every dollar the employee contributes, up to 5% of their salary, and study programs at no cost or reduced cost. As of January 2026, 21,499 employees were enrolled in those education programs, according to Target.

Latinos, a Large Part of the Team

Hispanics and Latinos make up 33% of Target’s employees in the United States and 28% of its managers, according to company data as of January 31, 2026. They also accounted for 31% of the people the company hired in its 2025 fiscal year. That is, one in three Target employees is Latino.

What the Season Says About the Economy

Nationwide, retail trade added 461,500 jobs between September and December 2025, according to unadjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). It was the smallest seasonal increase since 2008, according to the job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which forecasts about 450,000 for this year.

The firm explains that large chains now rely more on their current employees, flexible worker groups, and automation before hiring new staff. Target has maintained about 100,000 seasonal hires nationwide for several years and, like other large chains, has not given a national figure for 2026, according to Challenger.

Still, consumption is holding up. «Consumers are tight, but they’re still shopping,» said Andy Challenger, vice president of revenue at the firm, who noted that retail sales rose 1.2% in August.

In the Atlanta area, retail employed about 292,900 people in August 2026, according to preliminary BLS figures. Between September and December 2025, the sector added about 10,100 jobs in the area. The 2,300 positions Target announced are equivalent to more than a fifth of that increase.

What You Can Do

• Apply online: seasonal job openings are at TargetSeasonalJobs.com, according to the company. For store positions, interviews are via video or online.
• Ask about the flexible team: if you’re hired for the holidays, you can request to join the «On Demand» team after the season.
• Request adjustments if you need them: if you need accommodations to apply or interview, Target handles those requests at candidate.accommodations@HRHelp.Target.com.
• Read more: check out how much Target pays in Atlanta compared to the average. In the coming days, we will publish a guide with tips for getting a job at Target.

Sources: Target, seasonal hiring; Target, 2026 workforce data; Target, corporate profile; Challenger, Gray & Christmas; BLS, industry employment (CES); BLS, metropolitan area employment. Data consulted on October 9, 2026.