Cumberland Farms Sees Increased Interest Among Job Seekers

RICHMOND, Va. -- When it comes to working in retail, Cumberland Farms Inc. ranks among the top companies for those seeking hourly jobs.

According to Snagajob, an hourly employment network for job seekers and employers, the Northeast convenience store chain is one of the retail brands that received the biggest increase in job seeker interest during the fourth quarter of 2012. Other retail brands seeing a large increase included Toys "R" Us and Sports Authority.

The most popular job listing in the retail category for the fourth quarter -- as determined by application volume -- was for a customer service representative at Family Dollar.

In the restaurant industry, the brands that saw the biggest increase in job seeker interest were Qdoba Mexican Grill, Panera Bread and McDonald's. Snagajob job seekers would most like to be a Chipotle crew member, citing it as the single most popular job listing in the restaurant category.

The retail and restaurant industries are a core focus for Snagajob. In 2012, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics figures, retail gained about 20,000 jobs per month while restaurants gained about 24,000 jobs per month.

"These are growing industries where younger workers often can get hired, which also speaks to the job seeker interest we’ve seen," said Jason Hamilton, vice president of marketing for Snagajob.

The firm also found in its "Counter Intelligence: The Snagajob Service Industry Hiring Report" that Millennials are proving more ambitious in their job searches, engaging at a faster rate and applying for more jobs compared to older job seekers.

"The data shows us that Millennial job seekers are looking for hourly jobs in force, both in terms of the numbers of young candidates starting their search again and their collective willingness to work a number of different jobs," Hamilton added. "We attribute this to the fact that they simply need to get their foot in the door, whether it’s for a career job or otherwise. On the contrary, some older job seekers have either become more selective in the jobs they are willing to work or, to a certain degree, some of them may have suspended their search for the moment."