Casual positions scarcer in retail this year

While many high schoolers love a Christmas holiday job to gain some extra cash, they might be out of luck – new research from the Australian Retailers Association shows more employers will not be taking on casual Christmas workers.

The research shows just 48.5% of retailers say they will take on extra staff. The ARA says Christmas casuals usually boost the retail work force by 5%.

“Many Australians would have had their first job in retail, many of those would have been at Christmas and that tradition continues,” ARA chief executive Richard Evans told The Australian Financial Review.

But while Myer has said it will recruit the same number of Christmas casual workers as least year, it cannot confirm that they will be employed for the same length of time.

“Generally, these positions operate until early in the new year because of the stocktake sale, but because there is a high turnover of casual staff in retail businesses, many of the Christmas traders keep them on as casual staff. It will depend on the number of available hours and the economic climate,” spokesman Mitch Catlin says.