Dive Brief:
- Natural Grocers is looking to fill almost 500 positions across its fleet of 162 stores in 20 states, the specialty grocery chain announced in a press release last Thursday.
- The specialty food retailer said it has boosted wages for “select positions” at all of its locations by an unspecified amount in an effort to convince people to submit employment applications.
- Grocery companies are competing for workers as the job market remains tight even as inflation increases its grip on the economy.
Dive Insight:
Natural Grocers said it has identified cities including Dallas; Denver; and Portland, Oregon, as “hot-spot” locations for its push to bring on new workers. The company added that it will be holding a virtual hiring fair in the Kansas City, Missouri, area on Wednesday.
The retailer currently lists jobs that include multiple full-time department manager positions in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, region that pay $17 per hour and a store manager role in an unspecified area that offers a $70,000 annual salary. Natural Grocers has also posted full- and part-time cashier positions that carry a $14 hourly wage.
The grocer pointed to benefits including a $1-per-hour store credit, birthday pay, nutrition education and access to free “immune and stress-busting supplements” as reasons why people should apply for positions at its stores. Natural Grocers also offers employees discounts of up to 30% on certain products it sells, according to the announcement.
The company also noted that its staff-development resources include an accelerated training program for “high-potential candidates” interested in moving into store management positions.
Natural Grocers has embarked on a hiring spree against a backdrop of robust job creation across the food retailing sector and beyond.
Food and beverage stores added 6,100 jobs last month — ahead of other retail sectors — after losing positions in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported earlier this month. The nation’s employment rate, meanwhile, remained at 3.6% for the fourth month in a row, and employers added positions at a pace that surpassed economists’ expectations.
