With more workers vying for summer jobs this year, those looking for seasonal employment are preparing for a challenging job market. Nearly a quarter (23%) of employers plan to hire seasonal workers for the summer, in line with last year's findings, but the competition for those jobs will be stiffer than in years past due to high unemployment and a tough economy. This is according to CareerBuilder's Annual Summer Job Forecast, conducted from February 20 to March 11, 2009, among more than 2,500 employers. Those that land summer jobs may have a chance to parlay their roles into year-round positions. More than half (56%) of companies report that they would consider summer recruits for permanent placement within their organizations. When it comes to summer paychecks, nearly eight-in-ten (77%) hiring managers will offer the same pay to seasonal workers this year as they did last year, while only 9% will offer more. An additional 9% will offer less and 5% say they were unsure. Forty-two percent of companies plan to pay summer workers $10 or more per hour; 30% anticipate paying between $8 and $10 per hour. Comparing industries, hospitality and retail have plans to bring the most summer workers on board, at 38% and 34% respectively.

Across all industries, the most popular summer positions being offered include:

Office support - 26%
Customer service - 18%
Research - 12%
Landscape/maintenance - 11%
Restaurant/food service - 11%
Sales - 10%
Construction/painting - 8%

Source: CareerBuilder

When asked about the most unusual or memorable summer jobs they've ever held, workers shared the following responses:

• Bungee-jumping tower assistant
• Commercial bee herder
• Scouted garage sales for items to resell on eBay
• Murder Mystery dinner actor
• Cleaned gum off of school desks
• Gun fighter at a theme park
• Popsicle maker
• Picked up road kill
• Painted silo tops hanging from a crane
• Waterslide repairman

Source: CareerBuilder

Article courtesy of Kennedy Information Recruiting Trends providing leading edge insights and strategies for the recruiting professional