Home Depot to Hire 80,000 Seasonal Workers

by Christopher Freeburn | February 6, 2013 12:16 pm

[1]Spring is the season when homeowners start thinking about repairs, landscaping and renovations. The nation’s largest home improvement retailer expects more homeowners to spend money on spring updates this year[2].

In order to meet the anticipated sales rise, Home Depot (NYSE:HD[3]) says it plans to hire about seasonal 80,000 workers. That’s a 14% jump from the number of seasonal workers it recruited last spring, CNN notes.

Spring is traditionally the home supply chain’s strongest season. Last year it recruited 70,000 workers in the spring, up from 60,000 in 2011. That was solid improvement from 2009, when the financial crisis and a sputtering housing market caused the chain to trim its payroll by 7,000 workers.

The company operates 2,256 stores in the U.S. and Canada, employing about 300,000 workers. It’s primary competition is Lowe’s (NYSE:LOW[4]).

Home Depot’s high expectations come as U.S. home prices continue to rise[5], suggesting that the housing market is finally, if slowly, recovering from the mortgage crisis and economic downturn.

Shares of Home Depot rose fractionally in Wednesday midday trading.

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2013/02/home-depot-to-hire-80000-seasonal-workers/

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