In recent weeks, many chain retailers have announced plans to hire hundreds or thousands of workers for the holiday shopping season. With the nation's economic recovery still uncertain, however, smaller employers, aren't as willing to commit to seasonal hiring.

Lack of confidence that holiday sales will be strong is holding back many mom-and-pop stores from hanging out the "Help Wanted" sign, CNBC reports.

With many businesses still cautious, it "is not the kind of environment that leads to strong job growth," says John Challenger, CEO at job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Waning consumer confidence is one factor that employers are eyeing, Challenger says, noting that the most recent measure of Americans' willingness to spend fell to 39.8 last month. That's much lower than the near-50 reading a year ago, and well below the average 59.6 that's been tallied so far this year.

While hiring trends at the nation's large chain stores often make headlines, small businesses play an equally significant role in employment, CNBC notes.

Small businesses employ half of U.S. workers, pay 43 percent of total U.S. private payroll and have generated 65 percent of new jobs over the past 17 years. Hiring is likely to remain lackluster until smaller employers feel more confident, according to statistics from the Small Business Administration.

"Certainty and growth have to be there," says Chason Hecht, president of Retensa, an employee-retention firm in Manhattan, "and right now, neither of those are very strong."

For more on why small businesses are hesitant to hire, check out the full article at CNBC.com.