Dive Brief:

• Dollar General has reached a goal it announced in July of hiring 50,000 workers ahead of Labor Day but is still aggressively looking to add to its workforce, according to a press release on Wednesday from the discount retail chain.
• The company is offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus to people who accept positions as drivers for its trucking operation, known as DG Private Fleet, through Jan. 28, 2022.
• Dollar General is continuing its efforts to attract prospective employees as it expands its store fleet and invests in its distribution capabilities.

Dive Insight:

Dollar General's recruitment operations have been in overdrive in recent months, with the company's rapid growth fueling its demand for workers to fill roles in stores, distribution facilities and other parts of its business.

The company's just-completed campaign to hire 50,000 new staffers followed a drive it publicized in April to bring on 20,000 workers. Dollar General did not say how many workers it is looking to bring on in the weeks to come, but indicated it has a particular need for truck drivers.

Underscoring that, the company said on Wednesday it is continuing to pay cash bonuses to people who join DG Private Fleet through the end of January, extending an offer it made when it announced its push to hire workers during the summer. As a further inducement, Dollar General recently announced it's letting truck drivers bring a dog or cat with them in the cab.

Dollar General, which runs more than 17,600 stores in 46 states, has made building its distribution infrastructure a central pillar of its growth strategy. The company said in August it had completed its rollout of DG Fresh, an initiative to transport frozen and refrigerated items using its own trucks, to all of its stores. In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Dollar General's truck fleet included more than 700 vehicles, up from only 80 in early 2018.

Dollar General's hiring spree comes as the company jostles with other retailers to attract job applicants in a tight labor market that has amped up efforts by companies to impress current and prospective workers. For example, Kroger, which said in June that it was looking to hire 10,000 workers, pointed to higher starting wages, training opportunities and its culture as reasons why people should consider working for the grocer. 

A new dynamic in the labor market is the fact that states are letting extended unemployment benefits related to the pandemic expire, potentially encouraging people who have been staying out of the job market to return. In May, the National Grocers Association, which represents independent food retailers, said the benefits, which were part of the economic stimulus legislation passed by Congress earlier this year, were so generous that they gave people an incentive not to seek employment.