Call 4 Action: Pittsburghers Seeking Second Jobs In Financial Crisis

POSTED: 5:13 pm EDT October 3, 2008
UPDATED: 6:13 pm EDT October 3, 2008

PITTSBURGH -- Pennsylvania and the Pittsburgh region have fared better lately with unemployment than the rest of the United States -- but that may be changing.

The country's financial crisis is hurting local businesses at a time when many people are looking for second jobs.

Despite the long lunchtime lines Friday, business was still slowing overall at Sunseri's in the Strip District and other local establishments.

"To be quite honest, it's staggering. I've never had so many people come in on any given day asking for a job, especially since I didn't post a sign," owner Jimmy Sunseri told Call 4 Action reporter Aaron Saykin.

What surprised Sunseri even more was that, in most cases, the people looking for jobs were adults who wanted a second income to keep up with rising gas, food and home heating costs.

In an already weak economy, many people are now competing with high school- and college-aged workers for retail and service industry jobs.

"You do see older people working there that, normally, you did not see historically," said Kuldeep Shastri, an economist from the University of Pittsburgh's School of Business.

According to SnagAJob.com's national survey of business owners, holiday season hires are likely to drop 33 percent from last year -- at a time when one of 10 American adults is seeking a second job.

"Ordinarily, I have people already set up that are going to start. I'm not even looking for anybody right now," Sunseri said.

And when companies do want to hire more workers, some can't get the money because of the problems on Wall Street.

"I think the credit issue -- the credit tightening -- is going to be a major problem, because if organizations and companies don't have access to credit, they're going to have trouble making the investments needed that require them to maintain jobs and create jobs," Shastri said.

Even though the holiday shopping season is more than a month away, financial experts recommend that people apply now if they will want temporary work.

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