Wal-Mart to Hire 60,000 Workers for Holiday Rush
September 17 2015 - 12:50PM
Dow Jones News
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 Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 17, 2015 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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