Fewer holiday jobs to be had: Number of retailers hiring help lowest in 17 years; competition likely to be stiff

Oct 10, 2008 (The Columbus Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- LTD | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- People looking to make some extra money from a holiday job this year may find fewer companies hiring.

A recent Manpower Employment Outlook Survey found that only 8 percent of employers in the wholesale and retail trades expect to hire during the fourth quarter, making it the lowest percentage in 17 years.

And industry experts aren't the only ones making that observation.

Rachel Lewis of the Northwest Side would like to get a second job for the holidays, but she hasn't seen any help-wanted signs displayed anywhere.

"Usually you see something by now," Lewis said.

"My husband and I both have good jobs, but things have been tight for us. We've had to cut back on a few things, but I was hoping that Christmas wasn't going to be one of the things we have to cut back on.

"The problem is, I don't think many people are shopping yet because they are holding their breaths waiting to see what happens" with the economy.

Retailers are facing higher shipping costs because of higher gasoline prices, and a weak dollar is raising the price of imported goods, said John Challenger, chief executive of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based employment-consulting firm. National forecasts say retail sales will be at their worst level in six years.

The competition for the few holiday jobs that are offered likely will be significant in central Ohio, considering the region's jobless rate of 6.1 percent in August, the most recent data available. And those numbers aren't likely to fall significantly, said Bill LaFayette, the Columbus Chamber's vice president for economic analysis.

The retail sector locally lost 22,000 jobs between January 2001 and December 2006. Although employment in the sector has been on the increase in the subsequent months, LaFayette said he's expecting employment declines in the coming months.

"There will be some hiring in the retail sector (for the holidays), but the question is will it increase more or less than" previous years, he said. "I'm expecting a lesser increase than usual."

Local retailers such as Limited Brands don't intend to increase holiday hiring this year over last, spokeswoman Jennifer Ortiz Brown said. The company plans to hire 60,000 temporary employees nationwide to work through January, she said.

Finding a job of any kind -- temporary or permanent -- isn't viewed by consumers as an easy task nowadays. A majority, 82 percent, say now is a "bad time" to find a good job, according to a new Gallup Poll. That's an increase of 26 percent of people who thought that a year ago.

Hiring managers aren't offering consumers much hope. A majority of them, 57 percent, say they don't plan to add workers this year, according to a survey commissioned by SnagAJob.com, an online job bank. That's 8 percent more than said so last year.

And despite the fact that more people are expected to apply for a holiday job this year, 33 percent of hiring managers say they'll hire fewer workers than they did last year, the survey said.

But there is a bright spot, LaFayette said. The transportation industry tends to increase hiring over the holidays, and he said he expects that trend to continue this year.

"Although the national situation is very challenging, (central Ohioans) are defying gravity right now," LaFayette said. "But we can't continue to defy gravity indefinitely."

tturner@dispatch.com

There is a bright spot: The transportation industry is expected to increase holiday hiring.

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