Jobs, career information, and employment services for job candidates, employees, employers and recruiters.
Holiday Sales May Be Up, but Hiring Not Likely
By Jamie Herzlich & Nat Worden, Staff Writers Newsday.com
October 6, 2003
Henry Hildreth, owner of Hildreth's Department Store in Southampton, will keep his holiday staffing levels even with last year.
Louis Fortunoff, executive vice president of Fortunoff, is planning a slight hiring increase of 2 to 3 percent at his six stores.
And Melanie Nerenberg, director of marketing at Kate's Paperie on Broadway in Manhattan, says she is keeping things "lean and mean," after a slow summer.
Retailers are not expected to dramatically increase their hiring this holiday season compared to prior years, according to a new survey by the Chicago-based outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.
With the economic recovery still relatively weak and no signs of a significant resurgence in consumer spending, Challenger anticipates just a slight increase over 2002 Christmas hiring, significantly below the levels of the late 1990s.
Citing a greater willingness among current staff to put in more hours, the return of former employees and significant productivity gains, Challenger says this may be one of the most competitive holiday retail job markets in years.
Many stores are more likely to increase current workers hours, a strategy that is much easier to reverse if business does not surge, says Challenger, adding that there will be fewer jobs advertised.
Hildreth for example, says he is not planning to advertise for the half-dozen people he will add on for the holidays at his four stores. He will ask his existing part-timers if they want to pick up more hours or ask high school students who worked for him during the summer if they'd like to return.
Shakespeare and Co., a bookstore on Broadway, will look to college students to fill its two or three seasonal jobs.
"We'll hire some kids from New York University and the New School over the holidays," said Kristin Vogel, the assistant manager. "They're the only ones who can survive on the salary we offer."
Nationwide, retailers added about 555,000 workers in November and December of last year. That was about 65,000 more than 2001, but less than 1998, 1999 and 2000 when retailers added an average of 655,000 per year during the holiday season, says the survey.
"Nineteen ninety-nine was a banner year," noted Louis Fortunoff, who operates six stores including ones in Westbury and Manhattan. He said holiday hiring levels were much higher in 1999 when the economy was stronger.
He said this holiday season Fortunoff will add 160 to 170 people on Long Island, up from about 150 more staff last season. In addition, the retailer will add about 25 more people in Manhattan, up from about 20 more last year. Fortunoff employs 3,000 people including about 900 on Long Island and 150 in New York City. "Last holiday season was very lackluster across the board. We expect this year to be a little better."
In fact, the National Retail Federation forecasts that November and December's U.S. sales will rise 5.7 percent over last year, to $217.4 billion, making the best holiday showing since 1999, when general merchandise sales in the two-month period climbed 8.2 percent.
But experts say retailers don't normally significantly beef up hiring until after they experience a significant upturn.
"The hiring outlook is driven by the expectation of retail sales," said Jim Brown, labor market analyst at the New York State Labor Department. "They don't really significantly increase hiring until the year after they had a good Christmas. The last couple of Christmases have not been good."
Still, Nerenberg at Kate's Paperie said Web sales have picked up, which she thinks is an early indicator of things to come. So her staff is increasing by about 20 percent, with two permanent staffers and two holiday jobs.
The Scholastic Store, a children's book store in SoHo, which plans to double its staff of 10 for the holidays, expects strong sales. "Everyone buys books for children on the holidays, so we're expecting a good season," said Hope Van Winkle, the store's director of retail operations.
Email This Page!