Happy holidays: Retailers hiring more workers for Christmas crush ...

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"A lot (of retail merchants) are looking to hire and increase their staffing for the holiday season." Nancy Kyle CEO, Retail Merchants Association of New HampshireCourtesy image

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NEWINGTON ? Will a sizable bump in national consumer confidence from August to September lead to a strong holiday sales season for retailers?

The large national retailer Kohl's signaled it is betting "yes," when it announced last week a plan to hire 52,700 holiday-season workers nationwide, up 10 percent from last year. Another national chain, Walmart, said it would add 50,000 holiday workers, a small increase over 2011, while Toys "R" Us said it would add 45,000, up 5,000 from a year ago. Target said it estimates increasing its holiday staffing by up to 90,000 workers, a slight decrease from 92,000 in 2011.

Kohl's, which has locations in Seabrook and Newington, said it could hire an average of 41 associates per store at its 1,146 stores in 49 states. The company also anticipates hiring approximately 5,700 seasonal positions at distribution centers and more than 30 seasonal credit operations positions.

Vicki Shamion, Kohl's senior vice president of public relations, social marketing and community relations, told the Herald that every holiday season "we evaluate each area of the business to ensure we meet the needs of our customers" and that each store will determine the number of seasonal hires needed.

Seasonal hiring began earlier this month and most jobs will be filled by mid-November. "Seasonal associates can work anywhere from a few hours to more than 20 hours per week," Shamion said. "Typically, seasonal jobs include unloading trucks, freight processing, stocking and cash-register duties."

Nancy Kyle, the president and chief executive officer of the Retail Merchants Association of New Hampshire, said two major malls in the state have held holiday job fairs to fill hundreds of positions. The Mall at Rockingham Park in Salem was looking to fill 600 seasonal positions, she said, and Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua held its first such fair to fill hundreds of seasonal job openings.

"From everything I've heard, a lot (of retail merchants) are looking to hire and increase their staffing for the holiday season," Kyle said.

Fox Run Mall in Newington isn't holding a holiday job fair this year, but officials said merchants there have expressed interest in holding one for Seacoast residents in 2013. "The back-to-school shopping season seems to have started a little earlier this year, and we expect the same when it comes to holiday shopping," said Aaron Yust, director of marketing and business development at Fox Run Mall. "Holiday d?cor will be going up shortly after Halloween, which is typical timing for us."

In preparation for "Black Friday" shopping day, Fox Run Mall will have newly renovated restrooms and plans to install new seating areas throughout the mall.

Despite continued slow growth in the job market, the Conference Board said earlier this week that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 70.3, the highest reading since February and up from 61.3 in August. A measure of how consumers feel now about the economy rose to 50.2, up from 46.5 in August, and the report found that consumers are increasingly more optimistic about the next six months. Retail industry estimates for increased holiday sales in 2012 range from 3.3 percent to 4.2 percent.

The national seasonal job hiring phase could reach as much as 700,000, about a 6 percent increase over the 2011 total of 660,000, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. But in a sign of the economic times, the 2012 estimates don't reach the prerecession 2006 total of 747,000 or 1999, when almost 850,000 seasonal workers were hired.

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Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20121001-BIZ-210010301

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