Fewer seasonal workers in stores this holiday season
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If you notice extremely busy sales associates and longer lines while you’re holiday shopping this year, chances are it’s not because of an upswing in the economy. More likely, your local boutique or department store cut back on the number of temporary holiday workers to save money.
New numbers released Friday showed that retailers added only 217,200 seasonal workers last month, the weakest November job gain in the industry since 1988, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by consultancy firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
November retail hiring was 53% lower than a year ago, when merchants added nearly 458,000 holiday workers, the firm said.
Hiring managers at many local stores, including Guess and Banana Republic locations, say they were told to hire fewer holiday workers this year.
Read more about seasonal workers here.
-- Andrea Chang
