Whether students want money to pay rent or simply to get a fake ID, employment experts warn finding a job this Christmas season will be more difficult than in years past.
Joan Sweeney, student employment coordinator for the UW Job Center, said the job market does not appear to be as strong as it was a year ago. While many students do not look for a job on campus over Christmas, Sweeney said a primary problem facing those who do is many stores on campus do not need extra employees because the area is not as busy as it usually is.
Instead, she urged students to look for employment in other areas of the city, such as department stores and malls.
\Nobody comes to State Street to Christmas shop,"" she said. ""If I were looking for a job over Christmas I wouldn't go down State Street. ... I don't think their traffic picks up. It may even decrease over the holidays.""
Steve and Barry's, 636 State St., which employs many college students, does not hire new employees specifically for the holiday season, according to Mark Dunbar, regional manager of the store.
He said jobs over break will be scarce and students will have a difficult time finding employment because campus-area business typically drops.
""I think [finding a job] is very hard. ... We get hundreds of people applying and we only hire 20,"" he said.
While most businesses near campus do not need extra help over the holiday season, larger establishments such as Target, 201 Junction Rd., are currently accepting applications.
Kimberly Kopaczewski, executive team lead, team relations, said Target needs new employees because it sees an increase in traffic over Christmas. She advised students to start looking for jobs as soon as possible if they have not already, because many stores like to have a good amount of time to train their employees before the crowds arrive.
While the economy has recently made steps in the right direction, Sweeney said he thinks the job market will be plentiful in the coming weeks.
""This is not a good time period to be getting a job,"" she said. ""This is probably the worst year for people looking for jobs. There just aren't jobs and I don't think that's getting any better or worse because of the holidays.\
