California Apparel News

The good news is fashion and retail companies are hiring at the same rate—or higher—than last year. That’s the word from the recently released “2014 24 Seven Salary & Job Market Report.”

“The fashion and retail job market is strong but has significantly diversified. While the normal suspects are still in high demand—planners, designers (with specific skill sets), technical designers and patternmakers—the digital marketing, social media and e-commerce categories have certainly picked up in terms of demand,” said Tammy Chatkin-Newman, executive vice president, West Coast, for the recruiting firm, which surveyed 1,400 fashion and retail-industry professionals to compile the report.

“The talent that is highest in demand tends to be hybrid candidates that have both the traditional and digital experience. You can’t have an apparel brand today without evolving and investing into your digital talent mix.”

According to the report, 85 percent of companies say their hiring rate is the same or higher than last year, and 75 percent say the fill rate is the same or higher than last year. Half of those surveyed said they expected to increase their reliance on freelancers.

“That’s a trend we’re seeing across all industries,” said Natasha Lopoukhine, 24 Seven’s director of content. “The workforce is changing. There’s going to be an increased reliance on contingent labor. I don’t think it will be unusual if people in the workforce today will spend some time as a freelancer.”

Employees are also optimistic, according to the survey, which found that 72 percent reported an increase in total compensation, although most raises were modest. The annual report typically looks at employee job satisfaction, but, this year, 24 Seven also asked employees how engaged they are in their work.

“I think there’s definitely an engagement crisis happening, and I think that’s something that companies need to be concerned about especially since so many executives are saying they are increasingly under pressure to attract and retain talent,” Lopoukhine said. “We’ve always measured satisfaction. This year, we wanted to take a look at how happy people are with the terms of employment. Our data shows that people who are not as engaged, or not as satisfied in their job, obviously are a higher flight risk.”

Nearly 60 percent of the fashion and retail employees said they believe they are in demand, and 80 percent said they had been approached for new jobs more frequently in the last year than the year before. Two-thirds said they are “taking steps on their own to make sure they have the skills needed,” Lopoukhine said.

In most cases, that means brushing up on digital and tech skills, which employers list as among the top five hardest areas to recruit after sales, marketing, design/creative and operations, the report found.

“There is no longer a separation between what used to be talked about as digital and tech being a separate skillset from fashion and apparel, but, rather, the next generation of apparel and fashion hiring includes those skills,” said Alison Carreon, West Coast marketing and sales support specialist for 24 Seven.

Job seekers are also looking for increased benefits, the survey found, and nearly 50 percent of the employers surveyed said they are offering alternative benefits such as flex-time and telecommuting.

“In fashion and retail, 47 percent of fashion and retail offer some form of flex time or telecommuting or both,” Lopoukhine said, adding that after employees discuss salary and medical benefits, the next requirement is time-related perks such as flex-time and telecommuting.

“In our increasingly digitally commented world, we’re just never off,” she said. “You’re always plugged in.”

Another key area for potential job seekers is career path, Lopoukhine said.

“People are concerned about staying marketable,” she said. “That’s definitely a halo effect of the recession. They want to make sure they’re going to stay employable.”