By Erin McCarthy
Lowe's Cos. (LOW) said Wednesday it plans to hire about 25,000
seasonal employees at its U.S. stores during its spring busy
season, down from 45,000 workers last year.
Lowe's and peer Home Depot (HD) have been a rare bright spot in
the retail sector as they continue to benefit from the U.S. housing
recovery. Rising home prices and improvements in home construction
and new home sales have led homeowners to open their wallets for
remodeling projects or big-ticket items.
Last week, Home Depot said it will hire 80,000 workers in the
U.S. in preparation for spring, its busiest sales period, matching
last year's hiring level.
Lowe's said it plans to hire and train new seasonal employees
first in areas where the climate has begun to warm, and continue on
a market-by-market basis by climate and geography. Hiring has
already begun in Florida, south Texas, Arizona and Southern
California, it added.
Lowe's operates more than 1,825 home improvement and hardware
stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
Lowe's stock fell 0.9% Wednesday to trade at $46.54. The stock
is down about 7.7% in the last three months.
Write to Erin McCarthy at erin.mccarthy@wsj.com
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