Retailers may hire most holiday workers since 1999, report says

Retailers and delivery companies looking forward to a cheerful holiday season are ramping up their temporary hiring -- possibly to its highest levels in 15 years, according to one report.

Retail companies could add more than 800,000 seasonal workers, the first time since 1999, according to career counseling firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

“The last two years saw hiring return to pre-recession levels,” said John Challenger, chief executive of the company. “This year, we could see hiring return to levels not seen since the height of the dot.com boom.”

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced plans Thursday to hire 60,000 seasonal workers, including up to 5,000 in Southern California. That’s nearly 10% more than the retail giant brought on board last year.

Kohl’s said it will hire more than 67,000 employees to staff its stores, up from about 50,000 last year. FedEx is upping its holiday hiring by 25% to 50,000, while UPS said it will add 95,000 seasonal workers, nearly double from last year.

Challenger said holiday hiring has been boosted by a general uptick in the job market and more consumers willing to spend. The Commerce Department reported last week that spending had increased 0.6% in August, the highest jump in four months.

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