HUMMELS WHARF — Santa’s arrival Saturday officially launched the Christmas holiday shopping season in the Valley, say local shoppers who see the coming week as the start of crowded cashier lines and elbow-to-elbow traffic in store aisles.

Whether that’s good news or bad in light of the unstable economy depends on the approach, they added.

Several locals shoppers have taken different routes — starting early, using coupons and cutting back — this fall in hopes of making the coming holiday shopping season easier to handle in the face of tough economic times, which has certainly hit the Valley where unemployment figures have been at or above the state average this year, according to U.S. Department of Labor data.

Pennsylvania’s latest unemployment rate reached 5.8 percent for October, which is where Northumberland and Union counties were estimated to be. Snyder County with 5.2 percent and Montour County with 4.6 percent are slightly below the state’s average, according to the latest figures.

However, each of the Valley counties have dropped in unemployment since January when Union County was the highest at 7.2 percent followed by Northumberland County at 7 percent, Snyder County at 6.9 percent and Montour County at 4.9 percent.

The state’s average then was 4.4 percent, according to the department of labor.

Even with a hint of economic prosperity, local shoppers say they’re still a little wary about spending too much over the Christmas holiday.

Heather Hoot, of Selinsgrove, said she began her gift shopping three months earlier than usual.

Shawn Eddy, of Middleburg, and Lynnette Schadel, of Dalmatia, said their families are relying more on coupons and focusing on bargain deals, meanwhile Chuck Hollister, of Sunbury, said his family is simply cutting back on expenses and planned gift purchases.

According to the American Research Group Inc., shoppers around the country say they’re planning to spend less too — an average $400 less for gifts this holiday season than last year. The report indicated shoppers spent an average $860 last year.

The average planned Christmas spending is down almost 50 percent from last year and is at its lowest level since 1991, according to the research group.

None of the Valley shoppers said they had firm estimates on how much they typically spend on Christmas or what they project to spend this year but all said they expect to spend less this season.

“I will start by hitting up all of the sales, especially on Black Friday (Nov. 28),” said Amanda Reigle, of Dornsife, who plans to team up with her sister, Schadel, this shopping season. “She is a great bargain hunter. We use a lot of the coupons we get in the mail, especially the buy one get one free offers.”

Schadel said coupons can easily add up for great savings at the end of a shopping trip.

“My advice is to definitely take up the coupon offers and watch for the sales,” Schadel said. “People shouldn’t be ashamed, because those offers and coupons add up. I’m still definitely cutting back on Christmas this year. I’ll probably only spend half of what I normally do.”