This year is shaping up to be the worst seasonal job market since 2009. Here are the major retailers hiring - and pulling back.

"America's annual holiday shopping rush is usually preceded by a hiring sprint as retailers beef up their front-line workforces to meet the masses. But this year, there aren't as many jobs available at major retailers as there have been in years past. Retail hiring rates are at their lowest since 2009, according to analysis by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "The cautious pace of announcements so far suggests that companies are not betting on a big seasonal surge," the firm's senior vice president, Andy Challenger, said in its report."

"Data from the jobs site Indeed also shows that retail listings at the beginning of October were lower than the same point in each of the prior four years. "Things have really slowed down in the seasonal hiring space in the last couple of years," Indeed economist Cory Stahl told Business Insider. "Even of the postings that remain, we're seeing that they're not pushing as hard to get people into these jobs as quickly." While employers are slowing down, Stahl has found that more people are looking for jobs - a lot more."

Retail seasonal hiring is markedly down this year, with rates at their lowest level since 2009 and job listings below the past four years' early-October levels. Major retailers are pacing announcements cautiously and appear unwilling to assume a large seasonal surge, reducing the number of available temporary roles. Meanwhile, jobseekers are increasingly searching for seasonal positions, with search volumes already outpacing last year. Seasonal retail roles remain an important source of short-term employment, representing roughly two-thirds of seasonal hiring, and the current mismatch resembles hiring patterns seen after the Great Recession.

Read at Business Insider