Santa Clauses are in high demand on Christmas Eve, but fewer and fewer people want the job. Some brokers have discontinued their offer, others are fully booked. Lucky are those who have a friend, neighbor or colleague who brings the children in a red robe.
Dresden/Chemnitz (dpa/sn) - The shortage of skilled workers in Saxony has also caught Santa Claus. If you are still looking for a Santa Claus for Christmas Eve, you often have bad cards. "We issued a booking freeze at the beginning of November," said Hendrik Scholz from Santa Claus Service in Dresden, looking at the afternoon and evening of December 24th. "We can't save ourselves from inquiries." However, there is a lack of people who want to slip into the red robe. An hourly rate of up to 80 euros is tempting.
A call to the student employment agency (STAV) in Dresden was not crowned with success either: They have stopped the long-standing placement of Santa Clauses and angels. Such gift bringers were last arranged in 2019, the following year the offer was ended due to the Corona requirements, it is said.
Around 60 men and women were placed by the STAV as Santa Claus or angels in 2019 - not just students. Customers were almost exclusively families, explained board member Luzia Franke. However, the offer had to be capped at around 500 earlier. According to the information, however, there were fewer and fewer students who wanted to do this job. "Many students do not come from Dresden and therefore cannot play Santa Claus or angels on December 24th." If you don't want to do without Santa Claus for presents this year, you can at least borrow one of the costumes and slip into the role yourself or ask a neighbor or colleague for help.
It is also no longer possible to get a Santa Claus through the employment agencies in Saxony. The Zwickau employment agency was the last to offer this service until 2019, since then it has also been suspended there, as the regional directorate of the Federal Employment Agency informed on request. Rather, the focus is on getting people to work in the long term, the press office emphasized.
Scholz's service office only has six Santa Clauses up its sleeve. "We could easily employ 20 to 30 more." They are booked not only for Christmas Eve, but also for celebrations by schools, clubs and companies in the run-up to Christmas and for events in shopping centers. Mainly young people and seniors used the Santa Claus job to earn something extra. Thanks to the white bushy beard and artificial belly to buckle up, no special physical requirements are required, the entrepreneur emphasized.
