M Macys Inc

Macy's Inc. on Monday said it plans to hire roughly 85,000 seasonal workers for the coming holiday season, slightly lower than levels a year earlier.

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

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

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.

On Monday, Macy's said about 12,000 of this year's seasonal hires will help staff its direct-to-consumer fulfillment operations. Meanwhile, 1,600 holiday workers will handle customer service over the phone and, online and more than 1,000 temporary hires will support the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and other events.

Macy's added that in some cases, the seasonal jobs can lead to full-time employment at the department-store operator.

Last year Macy's planned to hire about 86,000 seasonal workers during for the 2014 holiday season, up from about 83,000 a year earlier.

Macy's has struggled with slumping sales as consumers have come to favor electronic gadgets and experiences over the traditional department-store fare of apparel and home furnishings.

At the same time, Macy's has come under pressure from investors to make better use of its real estate. Activist investor Starboard Value LP in July said it had accumulated a stake in the retailer and was pushing it to spin off key properties.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 21, 2015 10:15 ET (14:15 GMT)

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