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New Era Produces More Jobs But Fewer Careers

By James T. Madore | Staff Writer

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WORKING BEHIND the sales counter isn't what it once was.

The construction of shopping malls on Long Island and elsewhere ushered in a shift from full-time, professional staff to part timers trying to eke out a living and teen-agers looking to make extra money, say experts in labor relations.

Before the malls, stores in downtown shopping hubs such as Hempstead and Jamaica, Queens, were open daily and on Saturdays, but never on Sundays or holidays and only rarely in the evenings.

"The stores were mom-and-pop, and most of the people you were dealing with were family," said Robert Kenzer, who recruits executives for retailing chains. "Retail clerks stayed in their jobs for a long time. The men wore ties and jackets to work and the women, black dresses and pearls."

That began to change in the 1960s as malls turned shopping into entertainment rather than a chore. In this relaxed atmosphere, Kenzer said, the position of sales clerks slowly eroded. Longer hours of operation created the need for part timers willing to work nights and weekends, and employment became a revolving door.

"As hours changed, the whole nature of employment moved to predominately part time," said Ray Hilgert, a management and industrial relations professor at Washington University in St. Louis. "We used to think of these contingent workers as young people, but increasingly they are senior citizens and parents trying to make ends meet."

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