IT may be something that you hate to think about, but Christmas is just around the corner, and millions of people have already started spending.

November is the start of late- night shopping, and with so many shoppers digging out their credit cards in frenzied festive spending sprees, businesses have no alternative but to recruit temporary staff to cope with the increased demand.

Managing director of Bournemouth's SOS recruitment and SOS workforce, Julie Cook, has been dealing with the Christmas recruitment rush since the beginning of September, and knows just how desperate the local market place can get at this time of year. "If you don't have sufficient cover to keep up with your competitors, those customers will go elsewhere.'

'Companies within the retail sector employ three million people each year, which is around 11 per cent of the UK workforce. This year, that figure is set to increase by a further one per cent, which equates to 600,000 extra temporary staff!"

And it is not just the Christmas rush that prompts employers to look for extra staff - the January sales start the moment Christmas Day is over, and the spending continues.

"By employing extra temporary staff at key times, you can reduce the stress levels within your team," says Julie.

Managers who haven't started arranging their temporary cover are advised to talk to SOS workforce, who specialise in recruiting temporary, contract and permanent staff within the retail, production and industrial marketplace.

Each candidate is put through a thorough registration process including a face-to-face interview and referencing.

With the additional workload, managers of administrators and financial departments should also think about providing extra temporary cover to assist existing staff. SOS recruit-ment's trained workforce can help in all areas.

If you are a client recruiting staff or a candidate looking for a position, contact SOS workforce on 01202 55 55 44/01202 292 888.