By Erik Ortiz
Originally published in Press of Atlantic City - November, 16, 2008
Kenneth Austin has been polishing his resume and filing out applications at several retailers. But so far, no one has bitten.
"It's definitely hard finding a job now," Austin 37, of Atlantic City, said after a shift this week at the Kmart in Pleasantville. "It's like everyone's going to the (One-Stop Career Center) to get help."
Although he already woks part time at Kmart and has a full-time job at one of the resort's casinos, Austin is still in search of another paycheck this holiday season, when retail- and service-oriented employers typically increase staffing to accommodate the surge in consumer spending.
But with an economy in crisis this year, shoppers aren't expected to spend as much as they previously have, leaving employers cautious about hiring the same amount of seasonal staff as before.
"This could end up being one of the weakest holiday seasons in nearly two decades," John Challenger, CEO pf the Chicago-based workplace consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, wrote in a recent report.
Nationwide surveys portend a challenging market for seasonal employment, made tougher by record job losses this year and the flood of retailers going bankrupt and closing stores. Manpower Inc., a human resources services firm, found that hiring in the wholesale/retail trade sector in the last three months of 2008 is expected to be the worst since the third quarter of 1991.
Best Buy, the nation's largest electronics retailer, said it anticipates hiring 16,000 to 20,000 employees, down from 26,000 last holiday season. The combined retail sector in Atlantic, Cumberland and Ocean counties added nearly 2,000 jobs from October to December 2007, according to state Labor Department data. (Cape May County saw a net decline in retail employment of 269 jobs in that same period.)
Now, local employment agencies are bracing for a glut of workers competing for fewer jobs.
"We would have gotten calls from Sam's Club or Boscov's or for other special projects by now," said Linda Nourie, senior staffing consultant from Westaff Inc. in Linwood. Still, "We always have more people than we do jobs."
Nourie said jobseekers shouldn't be dissuaded from looking for work. Westaff, which places people mostly in clerical and office jobs, has relationships with about 40 to 60 employers during the holidays.
"I'm hopeful, and I'm thinking that we'll still be getting calls and putting people out," Nourie said.
Koleen Singerline, senior vice president of Snelling Staffing Services/The Wyckoff Group, said given the lackluster job environment, people need to be aggressive in their job searches: Register with job boards and staffing agencies, respond to ads (even if you're not a perfect fit) and be persistent with follow-up calls.
Many of the larger retail chains with locations in southern New Jersey are currently in hiring mode, including Bed, Bath & Beyond, DSW Shoes, Kohl's, Kmart and Dick's Sporting Goods. Even Boscov's, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August and is closing 10 stores, is still hiring temporary workers,
Donna Suez, human resources manager at the Boscov's at the Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township, said the store is looking for about 50 workers to fill sales and receiving slots.
"it might be slightly less than last year, but it's still pretty close," Suez said. "I think everybody is feeling the crunch this year."
Tough job market...
Retailers say they have seen a surge in the number of applicants seeking holiday work just as the sector is shrinking because of store closings and liquidations.
Unemployment: The U.S. retail industry shed 38,100 jobs in October, bringing the total since January to 297,000, according to the international Council of Shopping Centers. That's about 25 percent of the overall 1.2 million jobs lost in the United States this year.
Holiday hiring: A survey of 1,000 managers by SnagAJob.com found that on average, each plans to hire 3.7 seasonal employees-down from 5.6 last year.
Post-holiday opportunities: Even those who find holiday jobs may not be able to rely on them as more stores are expected to file for bankruptcy. That's expected to increase the overall unemployment rate, which could climb to 8.5 percent by the end of next year.
Source: Associated Press
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