No gains expected in Eastern Iowa seasonal hiring this year

If you're used to finding a seasonal job for extra cash, expect the same challenge you faced last year.

Eastern Iowa retailers and manufacturers who hire temporary workers to handle the holiday crush say they're hiring at the same pace as they did in 2008.

That's not necessarily a sign of economic recovery because seasonable employment last year was down dramatically from the year before.

Despite that, 36 Corridor employers seeking temporary help held a retail “mini-job fair” last evening at Iowa Workforce Development in downtown Cedar Rapids. Kerry Koonce of Iowa Workforce Development in Des Moines, said retailers sought the job fair to fill seasonal and permanent positions.

Brenda Dodge, director of Iowa Workforce Development in Iowa City, said her agency hosted an entry-level job fair last evening in connection with that city's human rights division.

Local numbers for temporary seasonal work were not available. But nationally, retail employment grew by 384,300 from October through December 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was nearly 50 percent fewer than in 2007, when 720,800 workers were added during the holiday months.

“The 384,300 seasonal workers hired in 2008 represent the lowest holiday hiring figure since 1989, when retailers added just 380,500 workers,” said John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement consultant.

Nordstrom Direct in southwest Cedar Rapids recently advertised for additional workers for its contact center and order fulfillment area. Spokesman Colin Johnson said the Seattle-based retailer is hiring about 300 full- and part-time seasonal workers as it prepares for an annual sale in November and the usual jump in holiday orders.

Johnson, who did not have comparable seasonal hiring figures for 2008, said Nordstrom Direct has attempted to rehire anyone who was laid off previously.

About 25 seasonal workers have been hired at Frontier Natural Products Cooperative in Norway, which is slightly more than last year, Chief Executive Officer Tony Bedard said.

“We're seeing some good growth in our business and we've done quite a bit of hiring in the last couple of months,” Bedard said. “If our business keeps on growing, we will probably keep some of those temps on after the holidays.”

Bedard said temp companies screen workers when Frontier needs to staff up fairly quickly, which gives the company the option of hiring them as permanent employees.

Toys R Us, with stores in Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, plans to hire 35,000 temporary workers nationwide. Spokeswoman Linda DeNotaris said hiring totals for the Eastern Iowa stores have not been established, but should be comparable to last year's count. Similar hiring plans were voiced by Target, Von Maur, Wal-Mart and Younkers.