Seasonal Hiring Not as Strong as Expected - East Idaho News
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Seasonal Hiring Not as Strong as Expected

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GETTY 121013 HelpWanted?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1386667849847Stockbyte/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Holiday hiring by retailers, which got off to its best start since 1999, has now tapered off.

That was the bad news delivered Monday by John Challenger, president of the outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Although retailers made 159,500 hires in October, representing a 6.7 percent boost from the same period in 2012, Challenger says that hiring in November was under levels from the same time last year.

Overall, malls, shops and other retailers brought on 629,000 seasonal employees in October and November, representing 2.3 percent less than 2012.

Challenger believes after the initial exuberance, stores might have come to the realization that their expectations for the 2013 shopping season might have been a bit too heady.

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