October Was an Excellent Month for Seasonal Hires
Published at | Updated at(NEW YORK) — Holiday hiring by retailers has gotten off to its best start since 1999.
John Challenger, president of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said on Monday that the 159,500 hires made by retailers in October represented a 6.7 percent boost from the same period in 2012.
It was the usual suspects bringing on additional help for the big holiday push, according to Challenger, such as Target, Walmart, Macy’s, Kohl’s and JCPenney.
Meanwhile, online retailer Amazon is reportedly adding 70,000 holiday workers, up from last year’s level of 50,000. The company is expecting a solid holiday season after its third-quarter earnings were up by 24 percent.
Challenger says that while the October figures were encouraging, the real proof of how good retailers feel about the holiday season will show in the number of hires made in November.
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