Report: Seasonal retail hiring is way off

November retail hiring was 53 percent lower than a year ago, when retailers added nearly 458,000 holiday workers, compared with 217,200 hires last month, according to an analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

That is the weakest November job gain among retailers since 1988, when only 194,000 workers were added, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement consulting firm headquartered in Chicago.

The firm said it drew its conclusions based on an analysis of data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In years past, merchants have often benefitted from a last-minute rush from holiday shoppers who put off their purchases until the final days before Christmas.

This year, many retailers fear that the slumping economy will cause shoppers to cut back on last-minute sprees; as a result, many merchants are hiring seasonal workers in smaller numbers, Challenger, Gray & Christmas suggested.

The firm said in a press release, "If seasonal hiring continues at the current pace, the number of additional holiday jobs may reach only 350,000, which would be the lowest figure since 1982, when only 260,000 workers were added to retail payrolls between October and December."
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)