What January looks like in the numbers
- Stores cut staff fast after Christmas. In the five retail industries BLS tracks, stores added 492,000 workers from October to December 2024 and laid off 463,000 in January and February 2025. The year before: 478,000 added, 474,000 laid off (BLS, The Economics Daily, November 17, 2025, not seasonally adjusted).
- Job seekers rush in. Searches on Indeed in January 2026 ran up to 31% above the early-December average, while job postings stayed flat. Retail, driving and logistics support postings fell the most from early December to January (Indeed Hiring Lab, February 19, 2026).
- This season started smaller. Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects retailers to add about 450,000 seasonal jobs in the last quarter of 2026, down from 461,500 in 2025, which was the smallest gain since 2008 (Challenger, September 23, 2026).
What this means for you: apply in December, before the early-January search rush. Our seasonal jobs hub covers the fall season; this page covers what comes next.
Who hires in January 2027
Every row has a source and a date. Pay is what a posting or release showed, not a promise.
Scroll horizontally to view every column.
| Sector | Who hires | What postings and releases say | When to apply | Source (date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax preparation | H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt, Intuit TurboTax, Liberty Tax | Jackson Hewitt tax preparer, Phoenix area, January to April 2027: $17 to $18 an hour; experience preferred, training offered. H&R Block is hiring tax pros and client service professionals, filled on a rolling basis. Intuit's virtual Tax Associate needs 2+ seasons of paid prep and a PTIN; base pay $19.12 to $28.49 an hour by state | October to December; training comes before January | Jackson Hewitt posting, viewed October 21, 2026; H&R Block, September 29, 2026; Intuit posting 2026-90188, viewed October 21, 2026 |
| IRS seasonal | IRS service centers | Seasonal contact representative, Jacksonville: $19.52 to $25.37 an hour, entry level, no prior tax experience. Atlanta GS-5: $20.44 to $28.03 an hour | Apply on USAJOBS first. On October 21, 2026, the IRS events page listed no in-person hiring events and asked people to check back | IRS, May 27, 2026; IRS, August 14, 2025; jobs.irs.gov/events, viewed October 21, 2026 |
| Returns and package handling | Amazon, UPS, FedEx and third-party logistics firms | Shoppers were expected to return $849.9 billion of goods in 2025, with 17% of holiday sales returned. UPS planned 100,000 seasonal hires for the 2026 holidays | Ask about returns and sortation shifts before your seasonal job ends | NRF, October 15, 2025; Quartz, October 7, 2026 |
| Call centers and open enrollment | Medicare and Marketplace call center contractors, insurers, tax companies | CMS expected about 5.1 million calls to 1-800-MEDICARE during the October 15 to December 7, 2026 enrollment window. H&R Block posted a 100% work-from-home seasonal customer service role in Missouri at $16.06 to $24.09 an hour | HealthCare.gov open enrollment for 2027 runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Tax support lines staff up for January | CMS, September 2026; H&R Block posting 2026-76948, October 16, 2026; HealthCare.gov, viewed October 21, 2026 |
| Healthcare support | Home health and personal care agencies, nursing homes, hospitals | Home health and personal care aides: median $17.21 an hour (May 2025); about 760,500 openings a year and 18% growth projected from 2025 to 2035 | Year-round. See the healthcare jobs guide | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, updated August 27, 2026 |
| Retail part-time | Big-box and grocery chains | At the end of September 2026, 49% of large seasonal employers' postings were part-time and about 20% were labeled seasonal | Search "part-time," not only "seasonal" | Indeed Hiring Lab, October 15, 2026 |
Your December to January timeline
- Now to December 15. Apply for tax season roles. Jackson Hewitt's January to April 2027 postings are live (viewed October 21, 2026). The IRS asks people to apply on USAJOBS before any hiring event (IRS, June 4, 2026). Roles, pay and training: tax season jobs.
- Mid-December. Ask your seasonal manager whether any roles continue after the holidays. Michaels says nearly 50% of its seasonal in-store positions became regular roles after the 2025 holidays (Michaels, September 10, 2026). More on how seasonal jobs become permanent.
- After Christmas. Look for returns and sortation shifts. See how Amazon seasonal jobs and UPS seasonal jobs applications work.
- January 1, 2027. Fifteen states raise their minimum wage, including Washington to $17.73 and California to $17.40 (state sources, checked October 25, 2026). Check yours: minimum wage by state.
- First weeks of January. Job searches peak. In January 2026 they ran up to 31% above early December (Indeed Hiring Lab, February 19, 2026). Get applications in before this.
- January 15, 2027. HealthCare.gov open enrollment ends (HealthCare.gov). Marketplace call center work slows after this date.
- January and February. Retail layoffs are heaviest in these two months (BLS, November 17, 2025). If your seasonal job has not turned permanent, keep applying.
For the full year of hiring windows, see the seasonal jobs calendar.
How to apply so you get an answer
- Apply before the holidays. In January, more people search while postings stay flat (Indeed Hiring Lab, February 19, 2026).
- Use the employer's own site. The IRS hires through USAJOBS. H&R Block, Jackson Hewitt and Intuit post on their own career sites.
- Have your documents ready. Paid tax preparers need a 2027 PTIN, which costs $18.75 (IRS, updated October 15, 2026). IRS jobs require fingerprinting after a tentative offer (IRS, May 27, 2026).
- Track every application in the application tracker.
- Look for weekly pay if you need cash fast: jobs with weekly pay.
- Watch for scams. Reported losses to job scams reached $501 million in 2024 (FTC, March 10, 2025). No real employer charges you for training or equipment before you start. See job scam warning signs.
Current openings
See warehouse jobs for returns and inventory work, customer service jobs for call centers, and healthcare jobs for aide and support roles. By city: warehouse jobs in Dallas, customer service jobs in Atlanta, healthcare jobs in Houston. Hiring events by city and month: job fairs.
More warehouse openings
Current source-linked listings could not be confirmed in this sample. Check the category search and each original posting for availability.
How to verify a listing
Every opening on JobPin links to its source posting. Open it, check the date and the season it is for, and confirm the pay on the employer's own site before you give personal information. How we check listings: how JobPin verifies listings.
How JobPin dates and sources listings: How JobPin verifies listings and events. Report a listing.