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Lansing Area Holiday Hiring Will Likely be Down in 2009

By Mark Bashore, WKAR News

Lansing, MI – A mid-Michigan jobs analyst says holiday hiring will likely reflect the struggling economy.

Retail job data is available only through August, but Mark Reffitt with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth says the numbers suggest less hiring is likely compared to 2008. He says an anomaly that appeared last December is apt to repeat this year.

"Typically, November is the month we see the most retail jobs added for the holiday shopping season," Reffitt says. "And we almost always see another little bump in December as we get closer to Christmas, but in 2008 we actually got a minor decline."

Many retailers are bracing themselves for another challenging sales season as consumers remain cautious due to high unemployment and uncertainty about the economy. The Michigan Retailers Association says almost half of all retailers in the state plan to compensate by offering more holiday promotions than last year.

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