The search for seasonal jobs might feel like a search for Santa Claus this winter as Ohio University students continue to face a struggling economy.
The National Retail Federation expects holiday sales to increase by 2.8 percent to $465.6 billion this season and 480,000-500,000 seasonal employees to be hired, according to its website. Although this estimate is more than double the 239,000 hired in 2008, it still falls short of the 637,000 seasonal employees hired in 2007.
The small job pool isn’t the only struggle students face when looking for seasonal jobs. Jonelle Melnichenko, a fifth-year senior studying urban planning, was a seasonal employee at Macy’s during winter break of her freshman year.
It was her first and last break. After she was scheduled to work Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Eve, Melnichenko chose to quit.
“You’re not in a position to ask for days off because you’re there for only a short amount of time,” Melnichenko said. “And there are so many applicants that they can choose someone who will work those days."
The following year, Melnichenko became a seasonal employee at The Honeybaked Ham Company, where she is returning to work this winter break for the fourth time. The company’s franchises are closed on Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Melnichenko said The Honeybaked Ham Company where she works tends to hire college kids as seasonal employees, hoping they will return for following seasons. Out of the 50 or 60 that apply, only about 20 new seasonal employees are hired each year, Melnichenko estimated.
Kassandra Humberson, a senior studying dance and choreography, said she also plans to return to a seasonal job for the fourth consecutive year. Humberson teaches classes and works at Foxtrot Dance Studio, which her mother owns. She said working with her mother can be stressful, but she considers herself lucky.
“If you work for a family business, it makes it a lot easier.” Humberson said. “You probably have more responsibilities, but you don’t have the stress of finding and starting a job.”
Humberson said many of her friends return to jobs as servers or seek seasonal employment at retail stores. Some have difficulty finding employment though, especially those who attend universities on a semester schedule.
“I have friends at Penn State who want to work over their break but have trouble finding jobs.” Humberson said. “No one wants to hire someone for only three weeks.”
Another option for students over the break is to take courses through Ohio University. The OU Office of Summer Session, Winter Intersession and OU Online offers 103 courses, 53 of which are online.
The exact number of students who will take classes is unknown, but last winter intersession 1,040 students registered. Some students register for more than one course, even though they are advised not to, causing registration numbers to be larger than students, said Pam Brown, the director of the OU Office of Summer Session, Winter Intersession and OU Online.
The number of students is steadily growing, though, Brown added.
“Generally speaking, when the economy is down, that means that winter intersession and summer session enrollment is up,” Brown said.
mt360307@ohiou.edu
