The holidays are coming, and so are a plethora of people looking for seasonal Chicago retail jobs.

While the current state of the economy is slowing and the number of people losing their jobs is increasing, it is expected that competition for seasonal jobs at retail stores will be higher than usual this year. According to an article by CBS2, some retail chains are already beginning to hire for the holiday season.

The Illinois Retail Federation states that most retail chains are hiring, and most are expecting a high number of applications. National chains traditionally add 25 to 40 percent more workers to their staff during the holidays, and most stores will keep those numbers this year despite the economy.

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A popular soft drink company will soon be cutting more than 100 Chicago jobs.

PepsiCo Inc. is cutting 3,300 jobs in total, 120 of those based in Chicago. The city is home to Pepsi’s headquarters for Gatorade, Tropicana and Quaker Oats business units. Of the 120 positions being cut, 100 are in the companies’ West Loop offices, where the majority of workers are located, while the other 20 cuts are at a research and development facility in Barrington.

Gatorade, Tropicana and Quaker Oats employ 2,400 people in Chicago, meaning the cuts will amount to 5 percent of the company’s workforce. The total number of cuts represent 1.8 percent of Pepsi’s global workforce, according to an article by the Chicago Tribune.

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If you’re looking for a law enforcement job in Chicago, it might be useful to know that one-third of the city’s airport police positions are currently vacant.

Currently, police officers are working overtime to help fill the vacancies at O’Hare and Midway airports. There are 77 combined vacancies at the two airports. Of O’Hare’s 177 budgeted positions, 66 are vacant. Midway has 11 of its 57 positions vacant, according to an article by the Chicago Sun-Times.

These figures were found when the City of Chicago submitted a $2.5 billion plan to privatize Midway Airport. Most of the vacant positions are currently being filled with off-duty police officers who are receiving overtime pay. While public safety is not being compromised because of the vacancies, it hasn’t been reported how many of the positions are being filled with off-duty cops.

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If you’re looking for a medical job in Chicago, a position as a registered nurse might be the way to go.

According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Chicago-Naperville-Joliet area employed 505,900 people in the education and health services industry during August 2008, an increase of 1.4 percent from last year. Overall, employment growth in Chicago’s health services industry is expected to increase faster than the statewide average through 2014, according to an article by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

A healthcare job in Chicago as a registered nurse could be a viable opportunity for anyone looking for a position in the healthcare industry. Statewide, registered nurses are one of the 10 occupations projected to provide the most job openings each year.

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A new report stressing Illinois‘ middle-skill careers could lead to more Chicago jobs.

The Workforce Alliance and the Skills2Compete-Illinois campaign recently released a survey reporting about a million middle-skill jobs should be available in Illinois by 2014. A middle-skill jobs is defined as one that requires more than a high school diploma but less than a four year college degree.

Middle-skill jobs are expected to account for almost half of all job openings in the state through 2014. The Skills2Compete campaign advocates an agenda that would guarantee access for all workers to schooling beyond high school. According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, this would mean more associate degrees, apprenticeships and occupational certificates.

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