By Emily Elliott

College students looking for extra or seasonal jobs are going to have some stiff competition this holiday season.

Every year, retailers hire extra employees to help with the expected rise in business during the holidays. With the economy in such bad shape, people have been worried about finding work during the biggest shopping season of the year. Many people who rely on these extra positions are college students.

These jobs come at the perfect time for busy college student because they are off from school for the holidays and have the time to work that they might not normally have during the semester.

A problem that many students are facing this year is the fact that the jobs they usually apply for during the holiday season are getting more applicants than in years past. These applicants are people out of college who need the extra income a holiday job will yield. Some people need these temporary positions just to make ends meet and hope they will turn into something permanent.

According to a Nov. 11 Associated Press report, applications for all types of jobs, including retailers and call centers, are up from years past. The article states that last year, managers were having a hard time filling these positions, but this year, they have not only seen a surge in applications, but that many of the people applying are highly qualified and are seeking these jobs because of lay-offs or cutbacks from their regular jobs. According to the Associated Press, the retail industry cut some 38,100 jobs in the month of October alone.

In the Tri-Cities area, though, retailers have not decreased the amount of holiday help they plan on hiring. The Gap and Gap Kids in The Mall at Johnson City have been in the process of hiring for the holiday season.

Megan Clooney, a manager, said they do not have a set amount of employees they hire, but just hire as needed. She said as far as she knew, they would hire around the same amount as they did last year.

The Johnson City location of the retail chain Target has been hiring since October. Books-A-Million also plans to hire its fair share of seasonal help. Wendy Gibbons, co-manager of books at the Johnson City location, said the store plans to hire around five or six employees, which is about the same number as last year.

“Some of the [employees],” she said, “we usually end up keeping part-time.”

Tri-Cities retailers are not following the same trends as other retailers. According to a recent survey in an Associated Press report, retailers will be cutting back holiday positions by 20 percent. This is due to the fledgling economy and the expected weak sales of this holiday season.

If retailers in the Tri-Cities do have to start cutting positions later on during the season, many college students could suffer.

Jake Snyder, a junior from Maryville who attends King University in Bristol, is planning on working over his holiday break from school. Snyder said he will be working at Stateline Bar and Grill in Bristol, which needs extra help due to so many more people wanting to have holiday parties.

“I am working during this time off from school because I really need to have some extra money,” he said. “Due to unexpected expenses and my busy schedule, I really haven't had the chance to earn a steady income this year.”

Snyder, a pitcher for the King baseball team, said it is hard to make time for a job.

Working during the holiday break is old hat for senior ETSU nursing student Meira Yasin. She has worked the past three holiday seasons at book retailer Barnes and Noble in Johnson City. She said they usually hire quite a bit of help there because the holiday season is always the busiest time of the year.

Yasin said she usually works from Thanksgiving until sometime after the first of the year. She enjoys working at Barnes and Noble because it gives her something to do and lets her be productive outside of school. Yasin said she enjoys talking with all of the people who come in the store. The money she makes doesn’t hurt, either.

Snyder said he will be using some of his income to provide a nice holiday season for his family and friends, but he also wants to tuck some away for the occasional rainy day and make some connections so he will be on the list for next year.

“I will definitely not be making this a permanent job,” Snyder said, “but I am hoping to have the opportunity to make extra money in the future from this business. If I prove to be a valuable worker now, I might get the opportunity to work for Stateline next year during the holiday season.”