In anticipation of the holidays, retailers are beginning their holiday hiring process and most are hiring the same, if not fewer workers this year, compared to last year, says Aon Consulting.

Aon Consulting surveyed more than 100 of the nation's leading retailers and found that 44 percent are hiring fewer holiday workers this year than they did last year, while 37 percent are hiring the same amount of workers as they did during the 2008 holiday season. Conversely, 19 percent plan to hire more workers for the holidays this year compared to last year.

The most important qualities retailers are looking for in candidates this holiday season include customer service skills, a positive attitude and availability. Meanwhile, retailers say the best candidates come from employee referrals, followed by walk-ins.

This Aon Consulting survey also revealed that 77 percent of retailers are hiring a greater percentage of part time employees this holiday season compared to last. In addition, 43 percent of retailers are planning to convert the same number of part time seasonal employees to full time status after the holidays as they did last year, while 42 percent say they will move fewer part time seasonal workers to full time status after the 2009 holiday season.