The holiday season is upon us and soon it will be Christmas trees and holiday lights, crowded malls and shopping bags.

But, shoppers will not be the only ones rushing around this holiday season. Retailers all over the country will be struggling, working harder and working longer hours, as the amount of holiday hires plummets in this tight economy.

For years, the holiday season has been a common time to find work. College students, home for the holidays, may be looking for a temporary hire, but this year is different than years past. The number of holiday hires in 2008 dropped nearly 400,000 (62%), making it the lowest holiday hiring season since the 1980s.

In 2005, retail stores hired 629,000 holiday hires. In 2006, there were 596,000. A slight increase in 2007 brought in 618,000 new holiday hires. 2008 shocked retail workers when only 231,000 holiday hires were brought in for the busiest season of the retail year.

My suggestion? Give retail workers a break this season. There won't be many of them!