Macy’s to increase hiring this holiday season

Department store giant Macy’s Inc. is bulking up its holiday ranks with 86,000 temporary positions, the latest retailer to boost seasonal hiring in preparation for the upcoming shopping season.

The Cincinnati-based company said it was hiring about 3,000 more seasonal workers than last year to staff its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers and distribution centers during the holidays.

Other retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kohl’s are also boosting their holiday hiring.

The ramp-up in temporary hiring could hit more than 800,000 workers in the last months of the year, the highest level since 1999, according to career counseling firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The planned hires indicate that retailers are expecting a decent-but-not-blockbuster holiday season, a crucial period in which they can bring in as much as 40% of their total annual sales. Retail sales are considered a bellwether of consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

Economists say lower gas prices and a healthier job market have boosted consumer confidence. However, many experts predict that people will shop carefully as incomes have remained stagnant.

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