Job front: Retailers looking for holiday help | The Sacramento Bee

Sacramento-area retailers are posting for positions across the sales floor as stores dash toward the holidays.

A look at local online job postings in the state Employment Development Department’s October HelpWanted Online report showed high demand for retail salespersons and first-line retail supervisors.

Ads for registered nurses held their customary spot atop the top 10 occupations, with local employers posting 1,229 ads for RNs. But retail occupations held two of the top three spots in October for job postings. Area employers posted more than 1,000 jobs online for retail salespersons and another 762 for first-line retail supervisors.

Another 600 jobs were posted for customer service representatives, according to the report.

The numbers represent slight increases over the year-earlier report. In October 2012, retail salesperson earned No. 2 with 905 postings, trailing only registered nurse jobs, while sales manager was No. 4 with 732 posts, according to the EDD.

The slight local gains also fall in line with national predictions. National Retail Federation forecasters in the trade group’s recent holiday report predicted retailers will hire from 720,000 to 780,000 seasonal workers nationwide, including floor staff and managers. About 720,500 seasonal workers were hired during the 2012 holiday season.

Health care networks Sutter Health and Dignity Health again led the top 10 list of local employers with more than 1,400 combined posts, while Intel, Kaiser Permanente and staffing firms Randstad and Deloitte also joined the list.

But familiar holiday names also dotted the top 10 list of local employers in the EDD’s report. Sears, at 252 ads, was No. 5, while Toys R Us and Macy’s were close behind at No. 8 and No. 9 with 150 and 140 job posts, respectively.

And government hiring appears to be on the upswing. State of California jobs returned to the top 10 after a long layoff, posting nearly 280 ads. Government was among the strongest sectors in the region between September and October, adding 2,100 jobs in state government and picking up another 3,300 in local government, according to the EDD.

The report came as Sacramento-area unemployment fell to its lowest marks in five years, dropping to 7.9 percent before rising again to 8.1 percent in October.

Job Journal hosts expo

Job seekers can meet recruiters and employers at Job Journal’s annual Career Expo, Dec. 10 in Sacramento.

The free event, from noon to 4 p.m. at Masonic Temple, 1123 J St., features local employers from the private and public sectors. Job seekers can also receive free résumé evaluations from employment experts.

For more information, visit jobjournal.com or call the Job Journal at (888) 843-5627.

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Contact Job Front at dvsmith@sacbee.com.