Christmas carols might be annoying in October, but they signal job opportunities for Nevada’s unemployed

Shoppers roam the Las Vegas Premium Outlets on south Las Vegas Blvd. for Black Friday deals, Nov. 23, 2012.

Black Friday 2012

Shoppers roam the Las Vegas Premium Outlets on south Las Vegas Blvd. for Black Friday deals, Nov. 23, 2012. Launch slideshow »

Although the public often grumbles about the holiday shopping season arriving earlier every year, people without jobs see it differently: An early shopping season means more opportunity to find work.

The Retail Association of Nevada expects retailers in the state to offer more than 6,000 seasonal jobs this year, a similar number to last year.

That's good news for Nevada's unemployed. Many people hired for temporary work land permanent jobs or move to the top of a store's short list of prospects.

And while a large percentage of holiday retail jobs in the state will come from Amazon.com’s Northern Nevada facility, the bulk of in-store hiring will take place in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas.

The Retail Association expects this year's seasonal employment to be on par with 2012. Retailers began hiring in August and will continue through mid-November.

“We could witness holiday hiring close to pre-recession levels for the third year straight,” association president Mary Lau said.

Amazon and Macy’s, for example, plan to hire more workers this year than last, while Target expects to pare down.

Kohl’s expects to hire about 40 holiday employees per store. Some will work a few hours a week; others up to 20. Typical jobs include unloading trucks, processing freight, stocking shelves and manning cash registers.

Although holiday retail isn’t expected to boom this year, it should fare better than this year’s Halloween retail season, which analysts say is down about 5 percent after a record 2012. Last year, Halloween spending rose 10.4 percent to $118 million.

Holiday hiring

Company Planned hiring statewide: Number of Southern Nevada outlets:
Amazon 2,979 N/A
Macy's/Bloomingdale's 885 5
Target 748 16
Toys 'R Us / Babies 'R Us 607 8
Walmart 595 23
Kohl's 554 8
Total 6,368
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