Home Depot plans 80,000 seasonal hires for spring rush
BY CHRIS BURRITT Bloomberg News
Thursday, February 07, 2013
2/07/13 at 4:05 AM
Home Depot Inc. plans to add more than 80,000 temporary workers ahead of its busiest season, about 14 percent more than a year ago, as a housing rebound spurs spending on remodeling and landscaping.
The nation's largest home-improvement retailer is hiring mostly seasonal workers, though some will be offered full-time work, said Tim Crow, the retailer's executive vice president of human resources. Last year more than half of 70,000 temporary employees were given permanent jobs, he said.
Home Depot is adding workers to run cash registers and work in the garden and other departments this spring as Lowe's Cos. boosts seasonal hiring by 13 percent.
Analysts estimate that Atlanta-based Home Depot, which has about 331,000 workers, will report a 10 percent rise in fiscal fourth-quarter sales, the biggest quarterly gain since 2007.
"We anticipate good growth in our sales this spring," Crow said in a telephone interview Tuesday. He declined to disclose sales projections. "Our business pops in the spring."
Shares of Home Depot gained 28 cents Wednesday to finish at $66.67 on the New York Stock Exchange. They soared 47 percent in 2012.
Crow said Home Depot is using an online tool to help military veterans and reservists match their skills with positions the retailer is filling, after making 10,000 such hires last year, Crow said.
Lowe's, the second-biggest home-improvement retailer, said last month it plans to hire 45,000 part-time seasonal workers this spring and another 9,000 permanent employees. The Mooresville, N.C.-based company added about 40,000 seasonal workers last year.
Original Print Headline: Home Depot plans temp hires
Associated Images:
A Home Depot employee assists a customer at a store in Atlanta. Home Depot says hiring of seasonal workers this spring will be up 14 percent from last year. Bloomberg file
|
