Article: Hiring Crunch Is Hurting Holiday Spirit of Retailers.(low unemployment rate makes it hard to find good workers)(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

There are less than 70 shopping days left before Christmas, and Los Angeles retailers are not in a merry mood.

In light of the tight labor market, store owners face their stiffest challenge in decades to hire good, part-time sales clerks.

And it will cost them.

With the Los Angeles County unemployment rate at 5.4 percent and most wages better than ever, it has become a behemoth task to find temporary help willing to work for a few dollars above the state's $5.75 minimum wage.

On a national level, the average retail salesperson now earns a little more than $9 an hour, according to the National Retail Federation. That is up about 13 ...

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