Nov. 1--Not all barometers of the holiday season are visible in the crowded store aisles.

Early in the morning, when it's still dark outside, the lights are on inside Target's store on Valley View Boulevard in Roanoke.

Tired employees in red polo shirts are scattered everywhere, stocking shelves and breaking down boxes. Many of them are there for only a few months, because they're working for the Christmas season.

Target and several other Roanoke retailers are beefing up their numbers of holiday hires, even as other retailers nationwide slim back on seasonal workers. That's contrary to national reports that predict dire job forecasts for Christmas. A survey by Richmond-based SnagAJob.com found that managers will hire 26 percent fewer hourly holiday workers than last year. Retailers are cautious this year because of the poor economy and dampened consumer spending.

But lower unemployment rates in the Roanoke region relative to the hardest hit parts of the nation, and the Roanoke Valley's status as a regional retail hub may be working in favor of those seeking seasonal retail jobs.

In Target's greeting card area, there's Shannon Walker, 21, who was laid off from a temporary job at Appalachian Power Co. He needed to earn money to buy Christmas gifts and birthday presents for his son, whose first birthday is Dec. 22.

In seasonal decor, Jeremy Hilton, 20, a student at Virginia Western Community College, pulls out decorations from boxes and places them on shelves. He's there to earn money for Christmas shopping, with hopes of staying on after the holidays.

In the men's clothing department, Beyonca Preston, 36, folded long-sleeve shirts. She's a beautician, but she took the seasonal Target job to help make ends meet.

As the holidays get closer, at least eight trucks, filled with new merchandise, will make weekly trips to the store.

Seasonal jobs are flowing freely at the Roanoke Target, where managers say they will boost total work force by 30 percent to 35 percent for the important holiday period, when most retailers earn the bulk of their sales for the year.

But Target is not hiring as many seasonal employees this year at its stores nationwide. Instead, Beth Hanson, a Target spokeswoman, said the retailer is doling out additional hours to current employees and cross training some workers to handle various departments in the store.

The Roanoke Target seems immune from these corporate time- and cost-saving moves.