allison swartout is an account manager in the temporary division of the abbott staffing group. i would say there are more positions than usual. we've probably seen double than what we saw last year. this is our best year for seasonal or holiday-based work. as companies compete to start the holiday season as quickly as possible, the pressure's on for job seekers as applications are stacking up and positions are filling quickly. there are a lot of openings for holiday work, but even those are hard to get. it's very frustrating. now that the government shutdown is over, the temporary negative effects on hiring like the e- verify system that determines citizen and immigration status is no longer a concern. and dr. adibi says the positive impact of the dow jumping more than 200 points when the debt ceiling was raised should keep sales up this holiday season and companies continuing to hire. more or less what the stock market says is that, sure, if you get your act together then we're in good shape. reporting for first business news, i'm ky sisson. to get a competitive edge when appl