Kohl’s to hire almost 53,000 seasonal workers for holidays

Kohl’s Corp., one of the largest department store chains in the country, said it will hire more than 52,700 holiday workers for the 2012 holiday shopping season, the busiest of the year.

That’s 10% more seasonal workers than it hired last year, according to the Wisconsin-based company, which expects an average of 41 temporary employees for each of its more than 1,100 stores nationwide.

In addition to stocking merchandise and manning cash registers in stores, the workers will also be tasked with helping the company build its e-commerce presence, Kohl’s said Tuesday.

On top of the 52,700 allotment, the chain also plans to add 5,700 seasonal workers at its distribution centers. Kohl’s also said it would fill more than 30 temporary credit operations positions.

Holiday workers will work from a few hours to more than 20 hours a week, according to Kohl’s.

Hiring at stores began this month and will be mostly complete by mid-November. The process at distribution centers started in August.

The holiday season, which kicks off in full force on Black Friday -- the day after Thanksgiving -- is a key period for retailers. Other major companies, such as Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and Target, are expected to announce holiday hiring projections soon.

Last year, Toys R Us said it would hire about 40,000 seasonal workers.

Kohl’s needs a bottom line boost from Christmas shoppers. The company said last month that its second-quarter net income fell nearly 20% to $240 million, or $1 per share, from $299 million, or $1.08 per share. Revenue slipped 1% to $4.2 billion, while same-store sales fell 2.7%. The company scaled back its forecast for the third quarter.

In midmorning trading Friday, Kohl’s stock was down 22 cents, or 0.4%, to $53.08 a share.

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