Some retail stores are stocking up on employees to prepare for the holiday shopping season which officially kicks off Friday. And those jobs could keep a person employed at least through the new year.
Cabela's has brought 45 people on board since September, 32 of which are seasonal jobs. And those jobs don't necessarily disappear after Christmas. General Manager Ron Brechus says if sales are steady, often they can keep people on the payroll through February. And he says there are opportunities to get more hours.
3,000 people were hired in October bringing the overall employment number to the highest level since February. WorkSource Spokane posted 900 job openings, which is up from a month ago. Plus, the unemployment rate is back under 8%. In Kootenai County, it's 11.1%. Brechus says he's happy to get people a job, and the plus from his perspective, is people work hard to keep their jobs.
"It's a good situation in some sense because you got a lot of employee retention and they show up for work," said Brechus. Cabela's is still hiring.
