BRADENTON
’Tis the season, once again, for fewer holiday jobs.
Lindsey England is among a select few who will have a job this holiday season.
The Lakewood Ranch High senior landed a cashier position at Crowder’s Gifts and Gadgets despite projections that seasonal work will be tough to find again this year.
“It was hard trying to find a job,” said England, 17. “No place is hiring and if they were, they weren’t willing to offer the hours I needed.”
A SnagAJob.com survey projects managers on average will hire 16 percent fewer workers than last year.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia-based consulting firm Hay Group polled the top 25 U.S. retailers including Best Buy, Target, Saks Fifth Avenue and American Eagle Outfitters to find that they will hire between 5 and 25 percent fewer seasonal workers this year.
“Retailers are planning for a challenging Christmas season, and to avoid the massive markdowns they had to take last year, they have reduced inventory and staffing levels to control costs,” said Craig Rowley, vice president for Hay Group’s retail division.
That doesn’t bode well for the 18,132 unemployed Manatee County residents who make up the area’s 12.7 percent unemployment rate.
Bill Webster, spokesman for Bealls, said seasonal staffing will begin this month but jobs will be limited. Bealls is only hiring for its department stores.
“Bealls Outlet stores are currently fully staffed,” Webster said. “There may be some need during the holiday season for some additional part-time associates working on an on-call basis.”
In the meantime, Bealls stores are seeing more job seekers requesting applications.
“We have seen more (applications) than in years past, obviously due in part to the current local economy,” Webster said.
Target, too, expects to hire fewer associates for the holiday season.
Spokeswoman Heather Christensen said Target stores plan to cross train current employees so they can take additional hours during the holidays.
“Because of that we are anticipating a reduction in the need for seasonal hiring,” Christensen said. Target wouldn’t disclose how many seasonal workers it expects to hire.
Cathy McCarthy, senior vice president of marketing for SnagAJob.com, said 45 percent of the 1,005 managers the Web site polled planned to have current staff take on more hours for the holidays.
“With current staff they’re already trained on however your company works during the holiday season so by adding additional hours you can cover the same business sales or same amount of activity with less investment in training,” McCarthy said.
Still several local retailers are optimistic holiday sales will drive the need for more hires. That is despite the 1 percent sales decline the National Retail Federation projects for this holiday season.
At Prime Outlets-Ellenton, several retailers such as Brooks Brothers, Kirklands, Dress Barn, Fossil and Fragrance Outlet, have advertised hirings for seasonal employees.
“Overall for the upcoming holiday sales season we have a very positive outlook and are looking forward to a successful season,” said Sarah Ozgun, spokeswoman for Prime Outlets-Ellenton.
Libby Engle, gift shop director of Crowder’s Gifts and Gadgets, too, said the retailer is optimistic about holiday sales.
“We’re having a lot of requests for holiday decor already,” Engle said. “We’re anticipating big things.”
That’s why the gift shop hired two employees about two weeks ago, and may hire one more closer to the holiday season.
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