Each holiday season, thousands of residents seek temporary seasonal jobs to earn extra holiday spending money or even to take advantage of employee discounts.

This year is no different, as job seekers flood the malls and neighborhood stores with resumes in hand. But with the economy in a downturn and unemployment on the rise, finding a temporary job over the holidays may prove difficult for some.

The jobs are available, but not in the numbers that they were in the past. Plus, more people are vying for the fewer jobs, giving employers the luxury of selecting higher qualified workers, while eliminating those with less experience.

Retailers both large and small have had to predict how well they will do this season when setting the number people they'll hire. The result has been a wide difference among employers, with some deciding to gamble that they have enough regular staff, while others having chosen to spend the money on temporary hires.

In some cases, those that do hire say they will be making "adjustments" to their staffs as the season unfolds.

" 'Black Friday' may be a big indicator for people and they may adjust," said Beth Busch, executive director of Job Quest, the state's largest job fair. "But who can afford not to be ready? You have to get the people in place. Nobody wants to plan for a disaster and be caught short. You want to plan for bountiful and adjust thusly."

At this past September's job fair, Busch said, many employers indicated they were looking for holiday help. But she said that was before the global economic downturn, which led to massive layoffs and downsizing of businesses.

"You can smell the caution in the wind, but I think everybody's waiting to see the start of the shopping season and see how it goes," she said.

Some of the larger chains, such as Macy's, are hoping for a prosperous season and have been hiring at the same rate as last year. Lavina Wong, special events director for Macy's in Hawai'i, said nationwide the retail giant will hire 23,000 seasonal workers.

Wong would not say how many are being hired in Hawai'i, but she said the Macy's stores here still have openings. She said the jobs vary, from sales associates to merchandise processors, and so do the hours available and pay.

Wong said the economy has not yet affected the overall seasonal hiring practice of Macy's.

"I would imagine that specifically in regions they all have to adapt to the needs of their company and the changes of the economy within their regions," Wong said. "So you're going to see some changes. But, overall, companywide, it's the same."

That's not true at Nordstrom, which is marking its first Christmas in the Islands since opening its full-line store at Ala Moana Center last spring. Nordstrom spokeswoman Brooke White said the retailer will not be hiring seasonal workers at any of its stores nationwide.

"The economy," White said in explaining the company's decision. "These are the worst times we've seen in retailing since the Depression."

SLOWING BUSINESS

During better times, Nordstrom would bring in from 50 to 100 seasonal hires for a store like the one at Ala Moana Center, White said. But Nordstrom has faced tough times since opening here and laid off 30 employees in the first two months of operation after 70 quit for various reasons.

"In good times and in bad times, we staff according to our business needs and have continued to see our business weaken all year long," White said.

The National Retail Federation has forecast holiday sales will rise by 2.2 percent this year, well below the 10-year average of 4.4 percent and the slowest growth since 2002. That has led many smaller retailers here to be a little more cautious in their holiday hiring, with many hoping to get by with the staff on hand.

Carol Pregill, president of the Retail Merchants Association of Hawaii, said she believes most businesses here also are expecting lower-than-normal sales.

"For a lot of retailers, holiday sales represent 20 to 40 percent of their annual business and that's a huge chunk in about a six- to eight-week time period," Pregill said. "So there is a whole lot of caution out there. They're probably resisting hiring more people. You need the revenue to pay the bills at the end of the month."

Pregill said there is added pressure on smaller businesses because many have to stay open longer when shopping malls extend their hours.

That's exactly the dilemma that faced Alli Kim-Czerniak, owner of Alliway at the Ward Warehouse. Kim-Czerniak opened her contemporary jewelry store in September 2007 and hired holiday help that Christmas, but decided against that this year.

"A lot of our employees are actually asking for extra hours so they have extra money for the holidays," she said.

But Kim-Czerniak said she and her husband, Steve, will have to spend more time in their store to fill in the open shifts. The mall will begin special holiday hours Dec. 12, which will place an extra burden on the owners.

"We're picking up a lot of the shifts, too, so we don't have to hire," she said.

At the Roxy and Quiksilver Youth store in the Ward Entertainment Center, a sign seeking help is taped on a window to the entrance of the store. Shyrah Maurer, general manager, said she hoped to hire one or two part-time workers for the holidays.

Maurer said the store's owners are optimistic that sales will be good this year and decided to bring in help. But she said priority will be given to current employees who want to work the extra hours.

Maurer said there has been a noticeable difference in the number of people who have applied for jobs this year compared with last year when unemployment was low and fewer people were seeking work.

"People are coming in for both temporary and permanent positions," she said. "I definitely see an increase in the number of people applying for jobs this year. There's a better pool to choose from."

A DIFFICULT SEARCH

For job seekers like Jovan Saragena and Leanne Kashinoki, finding a holiday job has proven difficult.

Saragena, 26, is a college student who was seeking his first seasonal hire position. The 'Ewa resident enjoys electronics and applied for work at Best Buy and Circuit City, but was turned down by both.

After nearly two months of applying for jobs, Saragena was hired as a holiday worker at the Guess store in the Waikele Premium Outlets mall. He said he starts his temporary job today and hopes to be kept on after the holidays.

"I haven't worked in a while because I wanted to concentrate on school," he said. "But now I feel like I need to start working again. So this is my first time applying and getting something during the holiday season."

Saragena said he knew it would be difficult finding a job because he needed flexible hours to work around his class schedule. He also knew there was a lot of competition for the position.

Still, Saragena said he's happy to have landed a job.

"My hours will range from 13 to whatever," he said. "For me, I don't care. I don't care what they pay me, I don't care what my hours are. I just want to get out there and have some kind of income."

Kashinoki, 25, works full-time as a manager at a sushi restaurant and had hoped to get a job at Macy's to help pay for her wedding. She also wanted to see if a job in retail could lead to a career in another field.

But the Waipi'o resident was turned down for a position at Macy's. Although the extra income would have helped, Kashinoki said she's not disappointed.

"If the opportunity comes along, then that's great. But if not, I'm not going to be totally bummed about it," she said.