Job postings for night shifts have 'simply exploded' as companies try to get ahead of roaring consumer demand

• Job openings are at record highs right now, particularly for roles that require overnight hours.
• The number of listings for night-shift jobs on ZipRecruiter is up 14 times over pre-pandemic norms.

Third shift is making a comeback after several years of declines.

The proportion of US workers who had non-daytime shifts fell from 2007 to 2017, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the economic recovery coming out of the pandemic is leading those numbers to tick back up.

"Night shift job postings have simply exploded in 2021," ZipRecruiter chief economist Julia Pollak told the Financial Times' Taylor Nicole Rogers. "There's clearly been a huge spike in demand for workers prepared to work non-traditional shifts."

Job listings on ZipRecruiter in September that require overnight shifts were up 14 times compared with the normal levels before the pandemic, the FT reported.

ZipRecruiter said much of that spike is attributable to roles in warehousing and logistics as that industry grapples with massive bottlenecks from roaring consumer demand.

In October, the Biden Administration announced that Wal-Mart had committed to "increase its use of night-time hours significantly," increasing its throughput by 50% to help alleviate the congestion in the supply chain. Target and Home Depot said they would increase their off-peak activity by 10% each.

UPS and FedEx also said they would ramp up their 24/7 operations to increase shipping volumes, with FedEx projecting it could double its nighttime capacity.

The late nights are helping improve the supply-chain situation, but the progress is coming at the expense of workers who are being tasked with longer hours and changing expectations.

"We can't keep this pace up forever," a union member from the Port of Long Beach told Insider's Grace Kay.

"The more ships that come in, the worse it gets," another worker said.