UPS embarks in hiring frenzy ahead of holidays, hopes to hire about 1,400 Jacksonville workers

UPS is hoping to hire 40,000 workers in a one-day job fair nationwide.

In Jacksonville alone, the company says it needs about 1,400 people for the upcoming holiday shipping rush.

The human resources manager at the Jacksonville hub said the facility processes 1 million packages a day.

With the holidays quickly approaching, they need all hands on deck to get packages delivered on time.

People lined up, resume in hand and ready to be interviewed.

STORY: JOB ALERT: UPS hiring 40,000 workers in 1 day at job fairs across the country

One of the people in the line was Lorenzo Bell.

“My job is a little slow right now, so I’ve been off about two weeks, so I decided to come over here and see what’s going on,” said Bell.

It’ll be a second job for him, one that will help him out tremendously.

“I got grandkids that’s looking for Grandpa to come through on Christmas,” said Bell.

Action News Jax was allowed inside as candidates were interviewed.

UPS called the one-day hiring event “UPS Brown Friday.”

Last month, the company announced plans to hire 100,000 seasonal workers.

Amazon, Target, Kohl’s and others are also trying to get a slice of the seasonal labor force.

With the unemployment rate as low as it is, many companies are offering perks and competitive salaries to draw people in.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of August, Jacksonville’s unemployment rate is at 3.5, percent dropping 0.3 percent since July.

Meanwhile, Bell was all smiles when he left Jacksonville’s UPS headquarters today.

“They told me to go and take a physical, that they’re hiring me, so that works out wonderful for me,” said Bell.

Cox Media Group