Seasonal hiring on par with 2010

CHICAGO, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Hiring for the holiday season should be close to levels in 2010, U.S. employers indicated in a nationwide survey.

"Companies across industries expect to hire a similar number of seasonal workers for key areas such as sales customer service, shipping, administrative support and other positions," said CareerBuilder, which conducted the survey.

CareerBuilder Chief Executive Officer Matt Ferguson said retail "has the lion's share of seasonal jobs." But he advised job seekers to look beyond retail, as well, for seasonal opportunities.

Among retailers, 29 percent indicated they would hire extra help for the holiday season. In the hospitality industry, 10 percent indicate they will add staff in the next two months.

About 30 percent of the seasonal jobs, employers indicate, will be in customer service positions. About 16 percent will be in administrative or clerical jobs.

Beyond that, 15 percent of the seasonal jobs will be in shipping, 12 percent in technology positions, and 10 percent in inventory management with smaller numbers in non-retail sales, accounting and marketing.

CareerBuilder also said it's not too late to find a job for the holiday season.

In the survey of 2,600 employers taken between August 16 and Sept. 8, 33 percent indicated they would still be hiring in November. An additional 11 percent indicated they would still be hiring in December, the survey found.

The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus less than 2 percent, CareerBuilder said.