Area retailers hanging 'Help Wanted' signs for holidays

According to a recent national study, stores will hire more temporary help this season than last year, although the number of seasonal jobs still won't reach the levels seen before the recession.

Many stores at the Streets of Southpoint mall in Durham are looking to add five to 10 people each to help during the holiday shopping season, said Danielle Kushner, marketing manager for the mall.

"You will see a lot of seasonal hiring going on with our retailers. It's probably not as high as it was before all of the economic issues with the retail industry," Kushner said.

Sales are up at the mall over last year, which has some stores feeling like they'll be busier this season, she said.

"We're very optimistic," she said.

Job-seekers are optimistic, too.

"As soon as I do see someone is hiring for seasonal, yeah, I'll take it. Anything. Money is money to me," said Joicelyn Ormond, who has been looking for a job for more than a year.

"It's frustrating, but you've just got to keep pressing on. You can't stop," Ormond said. "You 've got to do what you've got to do to stay on top and survive. It's hard, but somebody's got to do it."

Some job-seekers said they are holding out for permanent positions and aren't interested in a temporary job during the holidays.

"I'm really looking forward to getting another job, a nice one," Bella Villanueva said.

A national study projects discount retailers like Walmart and Target will hire the most seasonal workers because shoppers will flock to those stores looking for a deal.

Ormond said she expects plenty of competition for the seasonal jobs.

"(There are) a whole lot of people that don't have jobs right now, so I know it's going to be competitive," she said.