"It's certainly going to be a competitive seasonal hiring environment this year because we have people who are unemployed along with people who would normally be looking for this kind of work," said Allison Nawoj, a CareerBuilder career adviser.
SnagAJob.com, which surveyed hiring managers, said they're seeing 25 percent more applications per job compared with last year. Companies do much of the hiring in October so they can train people in November for the start of the season.
The holiday period is important for retailers because it's when a large part of the year's profits are made. This year, some economists and analysts are watching holiday spending as an indicator of whether the economy is beginning to rebound and consumers are becoming more comfortable with opening their wallets.
The National Retail Federation has predicted a 1 percent sales decrease, the second-weakest holiday season since it began tracking sales more than 40 years ago. Last year, the group reported that sales dropped 3.4 percent in November and December.
But it costs money to recruit people and train them. Many employers are choosing to give current workers more hours instead, the SnagAJob.com survey found.
"They do have a positive outlook and think that business levels will be similar to last year, but they're looking to save money," said Cathy McCarthy, senior vice president of marketing at SnagAJob.com.
Not all retailers are pulling back, however.
Video game retailer GameStop Inc. said it plans to hire about 15,000 seasonal part-time workers nationwide - about the same number as in 2007 and 2008.
Toys R Us is hiring 35,000 people, also about the same as the past two years. It will hire "toy-trained" workers to help parents pick out gifts, and will give current workers extra hours throughout the season, the company said.
Best Buy is one of the few companies increasing the number of holiday hires as it expects sales to rise for the year. The company has said it has benefited from the closing of competitor Circuit City a year ago and that consumers are starting to buy electronics again, but only at the right price.
"We are hiring more people this year for seasonal sales than we did last year," CEO Brian J. Dunn said during a recent holiday news briefing in New York. "We're going to have better year-over-year performance."
Macy's has already hired some seasonal workers and said the majority would be hired by Thanksgiving. It's hiring the same number of workers companywide as last year, and is getting interest from the unemployed as well as those looking for second jobs. The company is also bringing back people who might have worked for them past holiday seasons.
"We are seeing a lot of interest in many of our locations in Baltimore," said Elina Kazan, a Macy's spokeswoman.
