Seasonal hiring up this year, survey finds

RICHMOND, Va. — The holiday hiring forecast is looking positive this year as more hourly hiring managers are slated to boost their seasonal staff, according to a survey commissioned by Snagajob.

According to the survey, 51% of hiring managers said they will hire seasonal workers this year, up eight points since 2008. Additionally, these managers plan to expand their staff by 5% (or 4.1 seasonal workers), compared with last year, and 32% above 2009.

Snagajob did note, however, that holiday hiring won't reach prerecession levels. For instance, hiring managers don't intend to hire as many temporary workers as they did in 2007 — a season during which they each recalled hiring 5.6 hourly, seasonal workers (including those who didn’t hire any).

According to the National Retail Federation, retail employment grew by 483,500 workers over the course of November and December 2010.

Snagajob's survey results arrive at the heels of several reports on projected holiday retail sales. Deloitte projected sales to increase by 2.5% to 3%. ShopperTrak had similar results, projecting that national retail sales will increase 3% during November and December, adding that foot traffic will drop 2.2%. Research from Nielsen and PriceGrabber, however, echoed more of a "Bah, Humbug!" sentiment — both said consumers plan to spend less this year due to a negative outlook on the economy.