Applications for holiday retail jobs surging

updated 6:42 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2008

NEW YORK - The odds of landing a part-time job at department store operator Bealls Outlet Stores Inc. this holiday season are slimmer than getting into Harvard: It's one out of every 45.

Don't think the chances are any better at 7-Eleven. One California store received more than 100 applicants in a week and a half for jobs that pay $8.50 per hour — and the retailer doesn't even usually hire holiday workers.

From department stores and convenience chains to call centers, managers who only a year ago had to scramble to fill holiday jobs are seeing a surge in the number of seasoned applicants — many of them laid off in other sectors and desperate for a way to pay the bills.

The flood of jobseekers comes even as the retail industry drastically cuts back on holiday hiring because of the drop-off in consumer spending, and the applicants — who differ from the usual pool, teens or stay-at-home moms looking for extra spending money — reflect the nation's fast-deteriorating job market.

"I thought it was going to be pretty easy, but I am not the only one looking for a job. There are thousands of us going for the same thing," said Kimberly Caparo of Chesterfield, Mich., who has applied for part-time jobs at Toys "R" Us Inc., Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Cos. Inc. in recent weeks since she and her husband were laid off by American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

Holiday hiring Tight retail market narrows jobseekers’ options Retailers say they have seen a surge in the number of applicants seeking holiday work — many of them laid-off from other industries — just as the sector is shrinking because of store closures and liquidations. Here are the numbers: UNEMPLOYMENT: The U.S. retail industry shed 38,100 jobs in October, bringing the total since January to 297,000, according to Michael P. Niemira, chief economist at the International Council of Shopping Centers. That's about 25 percent of the overall 1.2 million jobs lost in the U.S. this year. Yet retail jobs made up just about 11 percent of total payroll employment — meaning the industry is losing a higher proportion of its jobs. That has been a factor in the unemployment rate rising to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October. HOLIDAY HIRING: Seasonal hiring is expected to be well below the levels of a year ago. 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. A survey of 20 retailers by management consultants The Hay Group reported that in September, 75 percent were planning to hire the same number of seasonal workers from a year ago. In November, that figure fell to 53 percent, while 26 percent planned to hire 5 percent to 15 percent fewer workers. POST-HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITIES: Even those who find holiday jobs folding sweaters or ringing up the cash register may not be able to rely on them after the holiday season, since more stores are expected to file for bankruptcy. That's expected to further push up the overall unemployment rate, which could climb to 8 percent or 8.5 percent by the end of next year.

At UPS Inc., which is just starting to ramp up its holiday hiring, as much as 30 percent of the seasonal hires in the Northeast are coming from the ranks of the recently laid off, said spokeswoman Ronna Charles Branch. In the past, she said, applicants for holiday jobs at the world's biggest shipping carrier were largely students.

Jean Telfort, a 41-year-old Army veteran, has applied for dozens of part-time jobs, including at Macy's and Nordstrom Inc., with no success. He needs money to help pay the rent and to pay down his $60,000 credit card bill, which includes his college tuition charges.

"I am looking for anything to carry me over," said the Freeport, N.Y., who returned full-time to Hofstra University where he's pursuing a degree in public relations after he served 11 years in the Army. He expects to graduate in May.

Since the financial meltdown intensified in September, leading to massive layoffs across several industries, a growing number of the unemployed have been turning to lower-paying jobs in the retail sector, which they thought could help them get by until they found full-time work in their specialized fields or retrain in other areas.

"It would be money coming in even if it's a little bit," said Caparo, 32, who's finishing up a college degree in business administration and does not plan to go back to the battered auto industry. "It's money that I don't have to take out."

But given the shakiness of the retailing industry amid a series of bankruptcies, store closings and liquidations, laid-off workers are even having a hard time finding any jobs. The situation got even tougher Monday, when consumer electronics chain Circuit City Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy and said it would be laying off more people than previously announced.

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