Santa's Helpers: More Holiday Jobs Expected This Year

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If you're looking for a part-time job this holiday season, you'll have a better chance of finding one than last year, new research finds.

Over the next three months, 43 percent of retailers plan to hire part-time workers, up from 39 percent last year, according to a study from CareerBuilder. While retailers will do the most hiring this time of year, they're not the only ones adding new seasonal employees, as companies across industries are looking for extra hands on deck.

The study found that nearly half of the businesses hiring seasonal employees are boosting their staffing levels to help with the busier holiday season, while 25 percent are doing so to help wrap up the year, and 24 percent are doing it to help ramp up for 2015.

Employees who can handle customer service will be most in demand this holiday season. The research found that 40 percent of the businesses hiring seasonal employees will focus on customer service positions. Over the next three months, employers will also look to fill administration/clerical, shipping/delivery, accounting/finance, inventory management, information technology, nonretail sales, gift-wrapping, marketing and hosting/greeting positions.

Many seasonal jobs will be more lucrative than a year ago. Nearly 30 percent of the employers surveyed say they plan to increase pay for seasonal workers this year, compared to just 13 percent who anticipate paying less than last year. More than 60 percent of seasonal employers will pay $10 or more per hour, while 19 percent will pay $16 or more hourly, according to the study.

There is a good chance some part-time workers will be able to parlay their seasonal jobs into full-time positions, too. More than 40 percent of the businesses hiring temporary workers over the next three months say they expect to transition some workers into permanent roles.

It's not just hiring for part-time workers that is projected to increase in the coming months. Nearly 30 percent of all employers plan to add full-time, permanent employees between October and the end of the year, up from 25 percent in the same period in 2013.

After experiencing incremental improvements over the past few years, the U.S. labor market is nearing a tipping point, said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder.

"The jobs outlook for Q4 is now more in line with pre-recession forecasts, as employers cast a greater vote of confidence in both permanent and seasonal hiring," Ferguson said in a statement. "What's also encouraging is that recruitment plans for small businesses with more than 50 employees are keeping pace with larger organizations."

The study was based on surveys of 2,203hiring and human resource managers.