Grim Holiday Shopping Predictions Could Mean Fewer Jobs

Written for kvia.com by Anchor/Reporter Stephanie Valle

EL PASO, TX– The holiday shopping season doesn’t start for another few weeks. But analysts have been predicting for months that it would be one of the weakest in recent memory.

If there is a lack of shoppers, some experts logically conclude that would lead to a lack of available part time or temporary jobs this holiday season.

“Everything I read is indicating that employers are not going to be hiring as much,” George Barton, UTEP’sDirector of the University Career Center, toldABC-7.

“Retail operations are not expecting to see the kind of traffic flow that they normally have during the Christmas holidays.”

George Barton says at this point, he is not seeing very much recruiting of college students. In fact, Barton says the number of job openings is flat compared to where it has been in past years.

“The projections are that we may see some increases in certain areas,” says Barton.

“When we talk about temporary employment, seasonal employment, a lot of what we see is going to be coming very soon.”

He certainly hopes so; Barton says the alternative for many students who don’t find that holiday job end up putting their education on hold.

“They have tuition and they have books and fees here at the university and so if they can’t come up with enough money for that, a lot of times what our students have done in the past is to leave school for a period of time.”

If you are a UTEP student looking for a job, or are an employer hoping to hire students, call the University Career Center at 747-5640.