U.S. Holiday Hiring Plans Reach Record Level -- Challenger
October 17 2018 - 8:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Colin Kellaher
Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) announcement earlier this month that it
will hire 100,000 seasonal employees across the U.S. pushed holiday
hiring announcements to a record level, outplacement firm
Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. said Wednesday.
Challenger said companies hiring seasonal workers for the
holidays have announced 704,000 jobs this year, topping the
previous record of nearly 696,000 seasonal jobs set in 2014. The
firm began tracking hiring announcements in 2012.
The jump in hiring comes as surging U.S. consumer confidence is
bringing expectations of a strong holiday season for retailers.
The National Retail Federation earlier this month forecast a
rise of 4.3% to 4.8% in holiday retail sales in November and
December, to $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion, excluding
automobiles, gasoline and restaurants.
The Conference Board, a private research group, last month said
its index of U.S. consumer confidence hit a new 18-year high, a
positive indicator for spending going into the holiday shopping
season, as robust job growth and a strong economic outlook
bolstered Americans' expectations for the future.
Other companies announcing large holiday hiring plans this year
include Target Corp. (TGT), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS),
Kohl's Corp. (KSS) and Macy's Inc. (M).
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 17, 2018 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)
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