AMZN Amazon.com Inc

   By Colin Kellaher 
 

Amazon.com Inc.'s (AMZN) announcement earlier this month that it will hire 100,000 seasonal employees across the U.S. pushed holiday hiring announcements to a record level, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas Inc. said Wednesday.

Challenger said companies hiring seasonal workers for the holidays have announced 704,000 jobs this year, topping the previous record of nearly 696,000 seasonal jobs set in 2014. The firm began tracking hiring announcements in 2012.

The jump in hiring comes as surging U.S. consumer confidence is bringing expectations of a strong holiday season for retailers.

The National Retail Federation earlier this month forecast a rise of 4.3% to 4.8% in holiday retail sales in November and December, to $717.45 billion to $720.89 billion, excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants.

The Conference Board, a private research group, last month said its index of U.S. consumer confidence hit a new 18-year high, a positive indicator for spending going into the holiday shopping season, as robust job growth and a strong economic outlook bolstered Americans' expectations for the future.

Other companies announcing large holiday hiring plans this year include Target Corp. (TGT), United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS), Kohl's Corp. (KSS) and Macy's Inc. (M).

Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2018 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)

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