Holiday Retail Jobs Maybe on Vacation This Winter

According to the NY Times, retailers are warning this holiday season to hold back on hiring for seasonal positions. Having worked in retail, I know that management looks for permanent positions during this time of year, while also using this temporary labor force to fill the greater need for trained associates around the gift-giving season. Much of the risk surrounding the hiring for seasonal jobs is associated with the flimsy prospects retailers are expecting this Christmas, forecasted by a weak back-to-school August and September. 

I think this is distressing for jobs on several levels. Knocking out seasonal retail jobs during the holidays leaves a huge mass of the public expecting to fill the cyclical unemployment for the year. Teens and college students depend on these low-paying hourly wages to supplement the season's trend of spending. Many families also depend on the jobs in retail to supplement other careers in order to pay for the holidays and the worker's families. Without the temporary positions provided by holiday hiring, people are not able to spend more money, thus also effecting the retailers themselves. 

-Colin

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/06/business/06hiring.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=retail%20labor&st=Search