Toys R Us and Best Buy hiring seasonal workers

Santa Claus isn't the only one working overtime at Christmas.

Toys R Us is currently looking for 35,000 temporary workers for the holiday season, the retailer said today. The jobs include management roles and positions as sales associates and back-of-house stock employees and will be in the company's traditional stores and in about 350 Holiday Express toy shops nationwide.

Not surprisingly, store traffic at Toys R Us locations is highest over the holidays, so the retailer also will give  existing employees the chance to work extra hours during the season.

Recent surveys have shown that retailers would cut back on seasonal workers this year, but Toys R Us said the number of holiday employees it planned to hire was in line with its 2008 and 2007 holiday numbers.

Click here for a complete list of available Toys R Us positions and job descriptions.

If you'd rather sell electronics than toys, Bloomberg is reporting that Best Buy plans to hire more seasonal workers this year to help meet demand for flat-panel televisions and mobile phones. The chain didn't specify the number of holiday employees it planned to hire.

-- Andrea Chang

Rock-inspired fashions all the rage at Seventeen/Action Sports Retailer runway show

Reporting from San Diego -- Distressed denim, plaid button-down tops and one-piece swimsuits were among the most popular looks at the Seventeen magazine/Action Sports Retailer runway show today.

A dozen young women modeled outfits that mostly featured a rock and grunge vibe. One model paired a checkered handbag with a black T-shirt, fuschia skirt and black leather ankle boots. Another wore a denim jacket over a black-and-white geometric-pattern short dress and shiny army boots. 

In the accessories department, slouchy knit hats, chunky jewelry and smaller waist-length purses were widely represented.

The runway show took place at the Action Sports Retailer trade show at the San Diego Convention Center. The three-day event is one of the biggest in the surf and skate industry.

-- Andrea Chang

Consumers expected to scrimp on back-to-school shopping

The economic downturn is expected to have a major impact on back-to-school spending, with 85% of Americans making changes to their back-to-school plans this year.

The average family with students in kindergarten through high school is expected to spend $548.72 on back-to-school merchandise this year, a decline of 7.7% from $594.24 in 2008, according to a survey released today by the National Retail Federation. Total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $17.42 billion.

The survey found that back-to-school shoppers plan to hunt for sales more often (56.2%), spend less overall (49.6%), purchase more store-brand or generic products (41.7%) and increase their use of coupons (40%).

“The economy has clearly changed the spending habits of American families, which will likely create a difficult back-to-school season for retailers,” said Tracy Mullin, president of the retail federation. “As people focus primarily on price, strong promotions and deep discounts will ultimately win over back-to-school shoppers this year.”

Spending in most back-to-school categories is expected to decrease, with one bright spot: electronics. With personal laptops and desktop computers increasingly affordable for most families, spending on electronics and computer equipment is expected to increase 11%. According to the survey, the average family plans to spend $167.84 on electronics, compared with $151.61 last year.

Families will also spend an average of $204.67 on clothing and accessories, $93.59 on shoes and $82.62 on school supplies.

The poll of 8,367 consumers was conducted from June 30 to July 7 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1%.

Although discount stores (74.5%) will be the most popular destination for back-to-school shoppers, the number of people planning to buy school items at drugstores is expected to rise.

According to the survey, 21.5% of families will shop at drugstores for back-to-school items, compared with 18.2% last year. Drugstores have become more popular recently as their merchandise mix has broadened beyond health and beauty products to include school supplies, small electronics and groceries.

In addition to discounters and drugstores, more than half of back-to-school shoppers will head to department stores (54.4%), nearly half (48.4%) will shop at a clothing store and 41.2% will visit office-supply stores.

Also, 22.2% will shop online, 20.8% will shop at electronics stores and 18.2% will shop at a thrift store.

-- Andrea Chang

Rough summer job search ahead for teens

Teenagers may want to consider just volunteering this summer; recent research suggests that the job market for the 16- to 19-year-old crowd could be the tightest since the 1950s.

For possibly the first time since 1954, fewer than 1 million teens will find summer jobs, the Chicago-based outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. said today.

As discretionary spending plunges, the retail and restaurant jobs that are typically filled by teens are being eliminated, according to Challenger. Even the number of internships and lifeguard positions is thinning as teens compete with a larger pool of more experienced applicants who are desperate for jobs and willing to take a pay cut.

As a result, out-of-work teens are less likely to spend their summers dropping money on clothes, music or entertainment, especially because their cash-strapped parents are now less inclined to give handouts. 

Teen employment has been declining for several years already. Between May and July 2008, 1.2 million teens joined the workforce, compared with the 1.6 million who found jobs in the summer of 2007, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

As of March 31, 4.7 million teens were employed, compared with the 5.3 million working at that point last year. Granted, fewer teens have been looking for work in recent years. In 2006, 44% were searching or working, down from 52% in June 2000.

-- Tiffany Hsu