Walmart Stores (Bentonville, Ark.) says it will hire 60,000 seasonal workers this Thanksgiving-Christmas period, an increase of 10 percent over the 2013 holiday season. Walmart says the decision was made to reduce check-out times, a common complaint among holiday shoppers. Analysts are saying the announcement also signals the retail industry’s optimism about the 2014 holiday season, reports Fortune.
U.S. retailers are projected to hire more than 800,000 seasonal workers for the upcoming holiday season, the largest number since 1999, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (Chicago). While Walmart competitor Target Corp. (Minneapolis) is expected to only match last year’s hiring of 70,000 seasonal workers, Kohl’s Inc. (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) will hire 34 percent more holiday staff members this year.