Holiday Season

holiday season: Coming off a slower-than-expected back-to-school season, analysts and stores are bracing for a tough holiday shopping period, which accounts for as much as 40 per cent of stores' annual revenue. Analysts study the holiday hiring figures from retailers for clues about overall employment trends and sales expectations for the holiday season. Stores typically begin to hire for the holidays in mid-September and ramp up hiring in mid-October. , according to Winnipeg Free Press. Overall holiday hiring is expected to be relatively flat because of cautious consumer spending and uncertainty about the economic environment. Employer consulting firm Challenger, Gray Christmas Inc. estimates that overall seasonal hiring will not change significantly from last year's total, when hiring rose 14 per cent to 751,800 positions between Oct. 1 and Dec. 31. NEW YORK, N.Y. - Toys R Us plans to hire 45,000 seasonal workers at its stores and distribution centres, the same number as last year, as it ramps up for the all-important holiday season. At Toys R Us, hiring begins this week and runs through December. About 15 per cent of the jobs in 2012 lead to full-time employment. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.