Retail hiring slump lingers

Many stores expect holiday sales like last year's -- poor

Jaclyn Trop / The Detroit News

It's unlikely that teenagers, college students home for the holidays or Michigan's unemployed will have much luck snagging a job folding shirts or stocking shelves this holiday season.

Temporary retail jobs, usually a mainstay for workers hoping to pick up some extra cash in the weeks before Christmas, are in short supply, as the national recession that stunted sales last holiday season lingers. The National Retail Federation expects holiday retail sales to clock in at $437.6 billion, down 1 percent from last year. In Michigan, retailers also expect an average loss of 1 percent, according to the Michigan Retailers Association.

Nationwide, more than half of hiring managers expect to receive more applications than last year, according to a survey by SnagAJob.com, which tracks hourly jobs. Meanwhile, they're pulling back, hiring 16 percent fewer workers than last year.

In the Great Lakes State, three-quarters of retailers said they plan on hiring about the same number of temporary workers as last year, when they pared their holiday work force.

"By and large, it's just status quo," said Tom Scott of the Michigan Retailers Association. The Lansing-based group doesn't expect significant sales gains until the state's employment figures improve, but a recent survey showed that 38 percent of the state's retailers are predicting sales growth over last year.

Retailers downsize

Retailers will hire slowly throughout the season, which generally stretches from November to January, as they determine their needs, said John Challenger, chief executive of Chicago-based workplace consultant Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The average hourly wage is close to $10, he said.

Last year saw retail's lowest seasonal employment growth in two decades, with retailers across the country hiring only half as many workers as they did the year before, according to a Challenger survey.

Retailers nationwide cut scores of thousands more jobs earlier this year, downsizing to cope with a drastic downturn in sales. Paring their work force means that retailers could lose sales and irritate shoppers with less attentive service and longer lines.

"Retailers are prepared for another difficult season," Challenger said. "They know that consumers are tapped out. But I think there's some sense that they've been through the worst of it, that last year was about as bad as it could get."

Some plan to hire

There are jobs to be found, though, especially with national big box retailers.

Target, which has 33 stores in Metro Detroit, will likely hire fewer workers because of employee retention, said spokesman Kyle Thompson. Wal-Mart, with 22 stores in the Metro area, also is hiring but declined to comment on its plans.

Kohl's, with 46 stores across the state, plans to add nearly 20 positions at each store, said Vicki Shamion, vice president of public and community relations. The chain expects to fill most jobs by the third week of November but could add more in early December, including jobs in freight processing, stocking and unloading trucks.

At Laurel Park Place in Livonia, stores are "not doing less hiring, but they're not hiring any more," said spokeswoman Claudia Frederick, adding that many stores trimmed hiring last year.

Jobs snapped up

There is intense competition for jobs at the handful of mall stores -- both national and regional -- that have posted openings online, she said. Aeropostale, Limited and White House/Black Market are among the retailers hiring.

Store managers at Partridge Creek in Clinton Township are inundated with applications for temporary positions, said Robby Stark, the center's general manager. But full-time employees at several stores were demoted to part-time status earlier this year, which means retailers have a large labor pool to draw from when they need additional help, he said.

At Fairlane Town Center in Dearborn, any new job openings are filled quickly, said Cathy O'Malley, general manager.

"If a (help wanted) sign goes up on Thursday, it's down by Sunday," she said.

jtrop@detnews.com (313) 222-2300