This holiday season will be the best for job-seekers in five years, since before the financial meltdown in 2008.
Three-quarters of retailers are expecting increased holiday sales, and stores will be hiring accordingly. Toys"R"Us announced earlier this week that it would hire 45,000 workers for the season, and Wal-mart announced today a plan to hire 50,000 more seasonal workers, as will the department store Kohl's.
Wal-mart also says it will offer current workers the opportunity to work more hours this season.
Target says it will hire 80,000 to 90,000 more workers. While that is less than the 92,000 workers it hired last holiday season, Target says 30 percent of last year's workers were given full-time positions at the company.
Macy's, Best Buy, FedEX, and UPS are also expected to hire more holiday workers.
"Retailers are betting that 2012 is going to be a great holiday season," said Craig Rowley, vice president for Hay Group's retail practice, "After four years of economic turbulence, they have figured out how to operate in an uncertain business environment and are calm and cool, knowing that they are ready as they head into the holidays."
A recent poll of more than 1,000 hiring managers by Snagajob, an hourly employment network, says 63 percent of them will hire seasonal workers this year, up from 51 percent last year.
On average, employers are looking to hire 50 percent more seasonal workers than last year, and twice as many as in 2009.
Many hiring managers will be looking for workers earlier in the season, with much of the hiring process completed by late October, and many of those jobs will be full-time.
In a statement, Gisel Ruiz, Wal-Mart's executive vice president and chief operating officer said, "This is our busiest time of the year and we are focused even more on providing excellent service to our shoppers throughout the holiday season. One way we do that is by ensuring our stores are adequately staffed by our associates."
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