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LA TimesA recent survey of more than 1,000 managers responsible for hiring hourly workers found that each manager planned on hiring an average of 3.7 seasonal employees this year, roughly 33% less than the 5.6 workers they hired during last year's holiday period.
And 57% said they didn't plan on making any seasonal hires this year, an increase of 8 percentage points from 2007, according to the survey by SnagAJob.com, a website for hourly jobs. Respondents cited smaller budgets and fewer expected holiday shoppers as reasons for cutting back; many said current employees would assume the additional workload instead.
Those looking for seasonal positions should be prepared to face stiff competition: There will be fewer jobs to go around, but more people are expected to be vying for them.
"People need to get out soon instead of doing it last minute," advised Ricardo Esqueda, store manager at the Banana Republic in the Beverly Center, which began hiring for the holidays in September. The store will reduce its number of holiday employees this year by about 10%, he said.
"The economy affects everything," Esqueda said. "At this point we're just hiring less people and being more selective."
Students, stay-at-home parents, retirees and workers looking to take on a second job are common applicants for holiday positions.
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http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-seasonal14-2008oct14,0,2629455.story
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