Seasonal job hiring will be roughly the same as last year, with few major retailers slightly increasing hiring. According to the National Retail Federation, retailers are expected to hire only 480,000 to 500,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, which is comparable to the 495,000 workers hired last year. Employment gains will not reach pre-recession levels, which averaged roughly 720,000 extra holiday hires from October through December.

There are many contributing factors to the decrease in seasonal hires. Many retailers are dealing with higher costs related to rent, energy, and rising wholesale prices. Retailers have roughly 160,000 more workers than last year’s holiday season. Retailers also are hesitant to hire more employees, as there are several signs that consumer spending is dipping. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., even a forecast of strong holiday sales would not motivate most retailers to hire additional personnel.

A recent survey of major U.S. retailers by the Hay Group found that 68% expect sales to be higher than last year. Yet, most retailers plan to hire the same number of seasonal workers as last year while one-fourth of respondents plan to reduce the number of seasonal hires, indicating retailers are opting to decrease labor costs in order to increase promotions and services offered.

Best Buy will be hiring only 15,000 seasonal workers, a decrease from last year’s 29,000 hires. The major retailer plans to offset this decrease in holiday hiring by increasing its regular staffers’ hours to compensate for fewer seasonal workers. It also plans to increase services, such as free tech support and a longer window for product returns, during the holidays. Additional services coupled with unique promotions like ‘deals under $100’ are certain to boost sales.

The exponential growth in e-commerce sales this year is also influencing hiring levels; 19% of retailers believe they will hire fewer seasonal in-store staffers this year due to increased online sales. This decline may be offset by the 19% who say they will hire more seasonal workers in distribution centers to support increased online orders. In fact, Toys R Us will have roughly 40,000 employees for both their stores and distribution centers, and Macy’s will hire roughly 78,000 temporary workers—an increase of 4% from last year—for its stores, call centers, distribution centers, and online fulfillment centers.

Seasonal job seekers should target Wal-Mart and Target, which should perform well as cost-conscious consumers increase this holiday season. Target is implementing innovative mobile techniques to lure job seekers; 170 of its stores are advertising holiday employment via text messaging. However, job seekers will have to look beyond the sales clerk positions to jobs on the floor for overnight stocking and even in shipping facilities. Such jobs can help support families by supplementing household income and providing employee discounts.