The Wall Street Journal
September 23, 2009
by Ann Zimmerman and Elizabeth Holmes (an excerpt)
Nearly half the nation's 25 biggest chains expect to hire fewer holiday workers this season than they did last year, another sign that retailers aren't counting on recession-strained shoppers to relax the tight grip on their pocketbooks this year. About 40 percent of stores surveyed across a broad swath of retailing told Hay Group, a human resources consulting firm, that they expect to hire between 5 percent and 25 percent fewer temporary workers this year than last, when the recession forced many retailers to trim staff in response to falling sales. That's a grimmer outlook than the Hay Group survey found a year ago, when 29 percent of retailers said they would be slashing their holiday workforces.
The results of the Hay Group seasonal hiring survey reflects retailers' pessimism about the holiday sales season, despite the stock market's recent strong performance and evidence that the recession is abating. "Retailers are not planning inventory or staffing for any sales growth this holiday," said Craig Rowley, vice president of the global retail sector for Hay Group.
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