Employers in those fields say hiring has gotten only slightly easier. Low wages and late-night shifts have always made it tough to find workers at the PW Market on Oakland Road in San Jose, according to store manager Jim Pohndorf, and the downturn of the last few months hasn't changed that. He added, however, that the past two weeks have actually brought a burst of applications. At a Kinko's copy shop around the corner, project manager Mariano Valera said that as the downturn has set in, it's been easier to hire workers. But the change hasn't been dramatic, and may be due to a temporary increase in graduates looking for jobs, he said.
Demand is still high.
Labor statistics show the number of service-type jobs declined only slightly from April to May amid the valley's economic storm. The number of retail trade workers was 139,200, up from 138,200 a year ago. Business expansion in 1999 and 2000 increased the number of service-type jobs in the county, and those jobs have not gone away, said one labor expert. Although service-level employment remains high, workers in these jobs appear to be staying put rather than bailing for better jobs. Turnover in the fast-food industry has always been high, but with the slowdown, it's coming down, employers say.