There is a little less of Ho! Ho! Ho! in the US this year. That's because Santa Claus is missing from many American stores this Christmas. A recent report by CBS pointed out that unemployment among professional Santa Clauses during the busy holiday season has been the highest since 2022.
Citing data from Revelio Labs, CBS stated that job listings for Santas, who are usually hired by malls and stores to attract families doing their Christmas shopping, have fallen by 35% since 2024.And those Santa job openings that do remain are only hiring the most qualified Santas of the bunch. About 70% of Santa listings call for candidates to have a fully grown beard, up from about 14% three years back. The only piece of good news for those dressing up as Saint Nicholas for a living is that the median wage for remaining Santa jobs is now $25 an hour, up from $21.89 in 2022, according to CBS.
