Wal-Mart to Hire 60,000 Workers for Holiday Rush

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Thursday that it plans to hire 60,000 seasonal workers for the coming holiday season, matching its hiring level from last year.

The workers will be paid at least $9 an hour, Wal-Mart said, and its permanent employees will also have the chance to pick up extra hours. Wal-Mart said it would also add department managers to help customers picking up online orders.

Holiday hiring by U.S. retailers is expected to be flat this year, partly due to changing shopping habits and job growth in the sector earlier this year, according to global outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc.

Earlier this week, Target Corp. said it would hire 70,000 employees to help during the holiday rush, the third year in a row it is boosting its workforce by that same amount. Toys "R" Us said this week that it plans to hire 40,000 people to work at stores and distribution centers around the country, down from the 45,000 hired for the 2014 holiday season.

Meanwhile, employment agencies for retailers and logistics companies say they are already having trouble finding warehouse workers to stock early holiday inventory and employees to train for work in fulfillment centers, where holiday orders will be packed and shipped.

As online shopping has boomed in recent years, retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. have been adding warehouses and distribution centers across the country to get their orders to customers faster.

The crunch has spurred some retailers to start holiday hiring earlier than usual.

Overall, data firm ShopperTrak expects holiday sales to to grow 2.4% this season compared with last year as people start their shopping earlier on in the season. Last holiday season was the best since 2011, according to the National Retail Federation, as retail sales excluding automobiles, gas stations and restaurants rose 4% in November and December compared with the prior year.

"Several trends indicate a successful November and December, including the rise of the educated consumer—who visits the store less but buys more—and the lengthening of the shopping season," said Kevin Kearns, ShopperTrak's revenue chief.

Retailers head into the holiday season with six straight months without a decline in retail sales, according to a Commerce Department report from earlier this week, a sign that a year of lower gasoline prices is percolating down to consumers. Households have been enjoying cheaper imports thanks to a stronger dollar, and fatter wallets thanks to low gasoline prices. But those same forces are hurting manufacturers, particularly exporters or firms in the oil and gas sector.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 17, 2015 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT)

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