by Karen Salmansohn, Columnist for A.M.-N.Y.

Working mother -- Isn't that redundant? Even today's most savvy mom can feel confused about the benefits and trade-offs that come with working part-time. If you're considering cutting back to a more "flexible" schedule, here's the inside scoop.

1. Be ready not only for a pay cut -- but a "benefits cut." Often this amounts to losing the equivalent of 25 percent of your pay. The result: Day care expenses might exceed your earnings!

By Carol Tice

Leaves turning scarlet don't just herald the coming of fall – they signal the start of seasonal hiring for winter jobs. Recession or no, many businesses must staff up, either to maximize sales during the critical holiday selling season or to get their business off to a good start in 2010.

With unemployment high, it'll be a competitive hiring season this year, so start your search early. In a survey of more than 1,000 hiring managers conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs, only 58 percent said they planned to hire as many workers as last year.

On the bright side, those temp jobs stand a decent chance of turning into permanent hires if companies are pleased with workers' performance – in the survey, 51 percent said their temp hires could be asked to stay on, compared with 45 percent last year.

By Aaron Crowe for AOL Find a Job

Santa Claus may have enough elves helping him make toys, but with an entire globe to deliver to, he's getting some help from UPS.

UPS is looking for seasonal workers for the holidays and often beyond, according to its Web site.

It's hiring 50,000 seasonal package handlers and drivers' helpers, down from 60,000 two years ago, according to an ABC News story.

The part-time jobs are typically for package handlers, so the sexy jobs of driving UPS trucks must be popular enough to be filled without part-time workers.

Anthony Balderrama, CareerBuilder.com writer

What do you do during the winter months? Celebrate some holidays? Prepare to adopt a healthier lifestyle on January 1? Wrap yourself in an electric blanket and cry until spring thaws all the ice?

In case you're looking to find some temporary work in the next few months, you should consider some of these seasonal jobs:

One way to boost your bank account is to take on a part time job, which is defined as a position that requires working fewer than 35 hours per week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are currently 25.5 million part time workers, according to the BLS. In November 2008, the number of people who worked part time for economic reasons, meaning that they would like to work full time but couldn't because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to, rose to 7.3 million.

As workers everywhere feel the effects of the slowing economy, more and more workers are turning to part-time work for help. The number of people looking for part time labor in the first quarter of the year through the third quarter of the year increased from 1.3 to 1.5 million, respectively.