By SUE STOCK, Raleigh News & Observer

Here's the bad news for holiday job seekers: there are more of you competing for fewer jobs.

The tightening economy has retailers planning for slower sales, which means they will hire fewer people.

At the same time, there are 2.2 million more unemployed people than there were at this time last year.

Still, job seeker, don't despair.

Despite the spooky state of the economy, shoppers are still shelling out money for Halloween candy.

This year, candy sales are expected to top $2.26 billion, according to the National Confectioners Association. That's up from $2.20 billion last year.

The reason is simple: People view Halloween as an affordable splurge and something that promotes time with family.

In the furniture business nowadays, even flat sales are considered good.

Havertys, Sealy and other major manufacturers have seen sales drop 25 percent or more since last year. La-Z-Boy, Pier 1 Imports and other chains are closing underperforming stores, and the number of corporate bankruptcies is skyrocketing.

In the updated, electronic version of Monopoly, you don't collect $200 for passing "go."

You collect $2 million.

As merchants try to get shoppers to dig deep into their wallets this season, some are trying an old-school approach: the catalog.