BELLEVILLE, Wis. -- With the holiday shopping season drawing closer, shoppers will soon fill stores looking for the perfect gifts.

It also means stores will begin staffing up to handle the increased crowds. This time of year, many people like John Blumer said that they count on picking up seasonal holiday jobs to make a little extra cash.

"We have three kids. We have to keep them clothed, we have to keep them fed and all that, so it helps," said Blumer.

Blumer said that he has been picking up seasonal jobs at Duluth Trading Co. in Belleville for several years.

"Right now, I'm a picker, packer for seasonal hire," said Blumer. "The extra money's nice at Christmas."

This year, Blumer said that he be one of the lucky ones. A survey out of Virginia found that 26 percent of managers will not be able to hire as many seasonal employees as last year.

"I think overall what we're seeing from companies in this recession is they figured out they need a strategy," said University of Wisconsin professor Mason Carpenter. "They need to figure out how to be profitable, not just big, and that's what we're seeing them work through in these holidays."

Carpenter said shoppers might end up paying the price in the form of longer lines.

But company officials said that Duluth Trading Co. is making sure their customers are taken care of.

"We have enough seasonal staff to make sure that we get presents and gifts out 24 hours within the order," said Suz Harms, Director of Marketing at Duluth Trading Co.

To do this, the company hired 300 seasonal employees, the same number as last year. That's good news for Blumer and his co-workers, using the extra income to get through the holidays themselves.

"We use the money for a little bit of everything," he said. "Holiday presents and to be sure we don't get too far behind on our bills for the rest of the year."

Duluth Trading Co. was able to hire 300 seasonal staff members.

Carpenter said online and mail order companies, like Duluth Trading Co., seem to fare better than store retailers as the public becomes more frugal with their money.