There are less than 70 shopping days left before Christmas, and Los Angeles retailers are not in a merry mood.

In light of the tight labor market, store owners face their stiffest challenge in decades to hire good, part-time sales clerks.

And it will cost them.

With the Los Angeles County unemployment rate at 5.4 percent and most wages better than ever, it has become a behemoth task to find temporary help willing to work for a few dollars above the state's $5.75 minimum wage.

On a national level, the average retail salesperson now earns a ...

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