Recent forecasts indicate U.S. retailers might hire more than 600,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, offering hope to throngs of displaced workers who can’t find full-time jobs or are working reduced hours.

Last year, an average of 255,000 Ohioans worked part time for economic reasons, up more than 1,000 percent from about 23,000 in 2007 when the recession began, according to the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Even workers with full-time jobs are looking for part-time work to supplement their incomes and are hopeful the traditional holiday hiring swell will work in their favor.

Lori Lautenslager, a patient care technician at Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, has been looking for a part-time job for the past few weeks, despite a recent pay raise and promotion.

“With all my bills plus Christmas, it’s just not enough,” said the single mother of three, who recently brought her elderly mother home to live with her.

“I am looking for a part-time job to make ends meet and hopefully have a Christmas.”

But with 14 million Americans unemployed, including more than 37,000 in the Dayton metro area, employers are likely to see far more applicants than they can hire this holiday season.

Laura Ogan, store manager at Target in Huber Heights, said the store was flooded with applications when she began hiring part-time, seasonal workers last month for the build-up to Black Friday sales after Thanksgiving.

“We started hiring in the second week of October,” Ogan said. “We’ve hired people from all walks of life just trying to get their foot in the door; a lot of former full-time workers trying to get back in the job market; a lot of people looking for second jobs.”

April Wise of Vandalia has been working at the Huber Heights Target for about a month. She quit her job as a welder at Crown Equipment in New Bremen to spend more time with her 5-month-old son, Brody, and her 8-year-old daughter, Chelsey.

Wise said working part time has its advantages, and she hopes to continue working at the store after the holidays. Her husband, Nick, still works full time at Crown.

“There are some trade-offs between bringing home two big paychecks to bringing home one big check and one smaller check,” she said. “We’re not in the buy-whatever-you want stage anymore. But we’re fine. I feel lucky to work here.”

She is lucky, according to John Challenger, chief executive of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, who predicts a tight job market for holiday hopefuls.

He said seasonal gigs will be hard to come by as the unemployed compete for jobs with students and stay-at-home moms trying to earn extra cash for Christmas.

“The competition remains stiff with so many people out of work,” Challenger said. “People who may have never considered working in retail in the past may now be willing to do so in light of long-term unemployment.”

Retailers — who by far do the bulk of the hiring during the holidays — created 627,600 temporary jobs during the last three months of last year, according to a recent Challenger report.

This year, many experts and industry trade groups expect holiday hiring to remain flat or slightly below last year’s levels, despite robust forecasts from such retailers as Target, Macy’s and JC Penney.

Holiday hiring has already gotten off to a slow start with retailers adding 141,500 jobs in October, according to Challenger, slightly below the 144,100 jobs retailers created the same time last year.

Still, Challenger acknowledged it’s probably too early to tell how many jobs will be added this year.

“November will give us the best indication of how 2011 stacks up when it comes to holiday hiring,” Challenger said.

“That is usually when we see the highest number of jobs added. But even if retailers dramatically increase hiring in November, it will not be easy to find a job.”

That won’t stop Earl Jennings from looking.

The Dayton resident, who was recently laid off from his job as a maintenance engineer at a downtown office building, said: “I have no choice. I’ve got kids to feed, and they have to eat. I’ve got skills, and I’m willing to work. But nobody’s hiring. ...

“I’ll take anything. I’ll work part time pumping gas if that’s what it takes. I just need a job.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2437 or rtucker@Dayton DailyNews.com.