A Sign of the Times: No Help Wanted

About 40 percent of retailers plan to reduce the number of people hired

By SCOTT WEBER

Updated 12:00 PM PST, Tue, Oct 20, 2009

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You may have a better chance of finding a free shoe sale at Nordstom's than finding a holiday sales position there. According to several recent surveys, record high unemployment combined with poor sales figures promise to make competition for holiday retail jobs fierce.

Traditionally, the holidays are a time when stores staff up with temporary workers to prepare for the holiday shopping rush. But the reeling economy has forced retailers to reconsider. About 40 percent plan to reduce the number of people hired by as much as a quarter, according to a report by Hay Group in the Washington Post. That's somewhat improved over last year's 47 percent figure but still bad news for LA job seekers.

"Retailers are planning for a challenging Christmas season," Craig Rowley, vice president of Hay's retail practice told the Post. "That said, retailers have their fingers crossed that they are wrong."

For the economy, it's a catch-22. Nervous retailers cut hiring because of poor sales, and cautious shoppers cut back spending because they fear for their jobs. Following the holidays last year, retailers shut down stores that did not perform well, shed seasonal hires and laid off workers, according to the Post. Macy's and Home Depot shed 7,000 jobs and long time electronics retailer Circuit City was forced out of business, leaving 30,000 workers without jobs. Combined, the retail sector has shed 600,000 positions this year.

"We are in a period of flux, no question," John Challenger, chief executive of an outplacement consulting firm told the Post. "My sense of it is that it's not going to be as bad as it was last year, but I don't think we've come way up from there."