Despite an economy that has many still feeling none too merry and forecasts for a 1 percent drop in holiday sales, the holiday hiring front news isn't all gloom and doom.
Although an Aon Consulting survey of more than 100 of the nation's leading retailers found that 44 percent are hiring fewer holiday workers this year, a majority have no plans to pull back; 19 percent said they plan to boost their hiring, and 37 percent said their levels will remain the same as last year.
(AP)
In addition, the pay might be better: A survey by SnagAJob. com of 1,005 American hiring managers found that while they plan to hire 16 percent fewer seasonal workers this year than they projected last year, the average pay will be better. The rate -- an average $10.40 an hour, is up 40 cents an hour over last year in the wake of an increase in the federal minimum wage.
In 2008, as the economy was mired in a tailspin, retailers hired an additional 231,000 workers during the holidays, far below the 618,000 they hired in 2007, according to the National Retail Federation.
But among retailers that have boosted holiday hiring this year is Best Buy Co. Inc., which has more than 40 stores in the Chicago metropolitan area.
"Over the past year, we've added more stores, restructured our store operating model to concentrate on more direct customer engagement," the company said. "We have filled 25,000 store positions in the past 60 days -- more positions for this holiday season than we hired in 2008."
United Parcel Service Inc., which expects its U.S. business volume to decline in the fourth quarter, still plans to hire 50,000 seasonal workers nationally, including abut 1,700 in the Chicago metropolitan area, roughly the same as last year, said spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg.
Toys R Us also plans to keep its seasonal hiring on par with last year's 35,000 level.
With the unemployment rate at 10.1 percent in the Chicago area and 9.8 percent nationally, expect competition for holiday jobs to be fierce.
"We're seeing an applicant pool that's greater in numbers than we've seen in the past," said Jennifer Albano, a spokeswoman for Toys R Us.
UPS, which operates hubs and distribution centers in the Chicago area, also has experienced an increase in applicants this year, Rosenberg said.
And GameStop Corp., which announced plans last week to hire 15,000 seasonal workers, consistent with hiring levels in 2007 and 2008, said Wednesday it is no longer accepting applications because it already has filled most positions and has enough applicants.