Holiday hiring mood remains dim in US

As the US economy sputters, prospects are dimming for unemployed workers who were banking on a seasonal retail job to carry them through the holidays.

As the US economy sputters, prospects are dimming for unemployed workers who were banking on a seasonal retail job to carry them through the holidays.

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After a disappointing back-to-school season, many retailers say they intend to barely increase their seasonal jobs from last year, when hiring was among the lowest in the 14 years tracked by the National Retail Federation.

Some big national chains say they will not hire any more workers than last year. And even some of the more bullish retailers say the growth will not be significant. “It’s a slight increase, it’s not a huge increase,” said Jim Sluzewski, a spokesman at Macy’s, which expects to hire 65,000 seasonal workers. NYT