Seasonal retail hiring in valley likely won’t surpass 2010

Businesses nationwide are hiring for the holidays, but not as much as they did last year.

Retailers add extra bodies during the winter shopping season, which starts the day after Thanksgiving, Nov. 25 this year. Many even try to double their employee counts to accommodate an uptick in traffic and sales.

The National Retail Federation estimates retailers will hire 480,000 to 500,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, compared with 495,000 last year. In Nevada, the outlook is the same as 2010.

"We expect about 3,900 seasonal workers to be hired for the Christmas season," said Bryan Wachter, director of government affairs for the Retail Association of Nevada.

That estimate includes a few extra helpers Vicki Richardson is already looking to hire.

Richardson employs about 45 people at her three Auntie Anne's pretzel shops, but she plans to hire seasonal help only for the store at Las Vegas Premium Outlets-North. She couldn't offer a head count, however, because it has more to do with the quality of people -- the better the worker, the fewer she needs to get the work done.

Auntie Anne's will need the extra help to manage extra foot traffic and sales.

"We're usually up about 30 percent between Thanksgiving and Christmas," Richardson said.

At Auntie Anne's, pretzels are made before a customer's eyes. An associate twists the dough, bakes it and then hands it to the buyer. Richardson said she is hiring for positions from managers to cashiers.

Some of the holiday jobs may turn into permanent positions, she said.

Richardson expects the hiring process to run smoothly. In fact, she is looking forward to finding some great candidates.

"It's really plentiful right now because so many people are out of work," Richardson said.

Although she needs holiday season workers for her mall location, Richardson isn't convinced she needs to add staff at her shops in McCarran International Airport.

"That really remains to be seen right now," she said. "Our revenues are down at the airport locations because of the construction. We'll wait to see if it picks up."

Unfortunately for those seeking seasonal work, there's no central place to find jobs -- in part, because there are so many unemployed. Nevada's jobless rate hovers at 13.4 percent, Wachter said. Classified ads and job listings on social networking sites can help narrow a search, but going store-to-store is still the norm.

Las Vegas resident Patti Matysiak said she has been able to find plenty of open positions but hasn't had luck getting hired yet.

"I have applied pretty much everywhere. Today I applied at McDonald's," she said. "It's challenging."

Matysiak works part-time at Ross Dress For Less, making $8.40 an hour -- 15 cents an hour more than her starting pay a year ago but still well below the $12.22 hourly statewide mean for retail sales, according to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

At 49, she is looking for another job, preferably full-time, to complement her Ross gig and allow her to cover her mortgage.

"I'm not a dummy, but because I'm older, it's a downfall for me," Matysiak said. "I have the piss-and-vinegar to keep up, but there's always someone younger. I'm not even getting callbacks."

Businessman Zohar Lotem, the co-owner of the Arm Candy retail store inside Miracle Mile, said he anticipates hiring only two to four seasonal workers. The store opened earlier this year, and this is its first holiday season.

Lotem said he does not expect more traffic this season, though he does anticipate a bump in sales of his purses and accessories made from recycled material.

"The effect isn't as big as in a local shopping center. Our sales will go up, but the quantity of shoppers doesn't," Lotem said.

Typically, seasonal associates work anywhere from a few hours to more than 20 hours per week.

Wachter said seasonal employees should treat their jobs with the same care they would a long-term position because they might be able to parlay it into something permanent. If not, at least they could get good references.

Most big box retailers are hiring seasonal help, though not at 2010 levels.

Best Buy plans to hire 15,000 associates nationwide, about half as many as last year, while offering current employees additional hours.

Toys R Us plans to hire more than 40,000 for U.S. stores and distribution centers, 5,000 fewer than in 2010.

Kohl's Department Stores, however, plans to hire more seasonal retail help this year because it is opening 30 new stores. The company anticipates hiring more than 40,000 associates nationwide this holiday season, up about five percent from last year.

"We consider specific numbers proprietary information; however, Kohl's anticipates hiring an average of 35 associates per store for the holiday season," said Vicki Shamion, Kohl's senior vice president of public and community relations.

Matysiak said that last year she was in a 10-person group interview for Kohl's during its seasonal hiring spree.

The department store chain hired one person from the group, but not her. This year, she said she looked for open positions with the company in Las Vegas, but found none.

Contact reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@lvbusinesspress.com or 702-380-4588.