Jobless Professionals Vie for Holiday Sales Work
By CHRISTOPHER LEONARD and MAE ANDERSON, Associated Press
Mara Proctor used to design limestone hearths and columns for luxury homes near Kansas City, drawing on her college education and six years of training.
These days, she's leading customers around a store that sells sculptured snowmen and Santa figurines.
It isn't by choice. Until a few weeks ago, Proctor was among the record 5.9 million Americans who have been jobless for at least six months. Now she belongs to a subset of that group: Out-of-work professionals and teachers who have turned, in desperation, to holiday-season jobs as sales clerks.
