As the 2012 holiday season continues to slowly inch its way to becoming the main prioritized thought for teens and children; earning more income or any income at all is the main focus for those expected to provide.
Retailers are preparing to handle their holiday sales expectations by employing more seasonal workers to enforce retail law on the mass flow of potential and expected shoppers.
Shopping holidays such as "black Friday" have given retailers a reason to beef up their staff.
Toys R Us on Tuesday said it would hire 45,000 seasonal employees for the upcoming holiday shopping period, becoming the latest retailer to increase its hiring in anticipation of a modest bump in consumer spending.
The toy store chain hired 40,000 season workers last year, 15 percent of whom were kept after the holidays ended.
Last week, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it planned to hire more than 50,000 seasonal employees to work at its Walmart stores in the United States, slightly more than last year, while department store operator Kohl's Corp said it would hire 52,700 people or 10 percent more than last year.
The increase in hiring comes as shoppers continue to spend more in stores than they did a year ago, helped by the gradually improving economy.
Research firm ShopperTrak this month forecast U.S. retail sales would rise 3.3 percent this holiday season, while consulting firm Kurt Salmon expects a 4.2 percent increase.
Retailers typically add staff in the weeks leading up to the holidays to work in stores and to help in other areas, such as distribution and fulfilling online orders.
Some of the increase arises from a need for more staff at the retailers' distribution centers to help quickly deliver online orders and compete with online retailers such as Amazon.com Inc.
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