According to the BLS employment report, retailers hired seasonal workers in October at a lower pace than the last few years.
Typically retail companies start hiring for the holiday season in October, and really increase hiring in November. Here is a graph that shows the historical net retail jobs added for October, November and December by year.
This graph really shows the collapse in retail hiring in 2008. Since then seasonal hiring has increased back close to more normal levels. Note: I expect the long term trend will be down with more and more internet holiday shopping.
Click on graph for larger image.
Retailers hired 137 thousand workers (NSA) net in October. Note: this is NSA (Not Seasonally Adjusted).
This suggests retailers are a little cautious about the holiday season – or are having difficulty finding seasonal workers. Note: There is a decent correlation between October seasonal retail hiring and holiday retail sales.