Wal-Mart to hire 22,000 - Orlando Business Journal:

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Wal-Mart’s announcement came on a day the government released mildly encouraginh weeklyunemployment figures. But it also hit as the retail industry reported some overall dismal with same store sales figures falling an averagof 4.8 percent for May. The discounrt retail giant says it willhire 22,00p0 people to staff new or expanded storesz this year. “During this difficult economic time, we’rre proud to be able to create quality jobs for thousands of Americandsthis year,” Eduardo vice chairman of , said in a statement. But even Wal-Marty (NYSE: WMT) isn’t hirinhg at the same pace it has in the The Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer added 33,000 jobs in the U.S.
last year. Wal-Mart’s low prices on everything from food to electronicsz have allowed it to gain market share and have kept it positione d asthe nation’s number one retailer. Unliker its peers, Wal-Mart did not release monthlyy sales figures, instead focusing its attention on itshirinfg announcement. Wal-Mart’s announcement, on the eve of its annual shareholder’sd meeting, came as the U.S. Labof Department released jobless figures showing the recession may be losinb at least some ofits momentum. Initialp claims for state unemploymentfell 4,000 to 621,00 in the week that ended May 30. That’s the thirrd straight week fewer workers filednew claims.
And the tally of claims drawn by workers for more than one week in the week endedf May 23fell 15,000 to 6,735,00 -- the first decline in that figure since Jan. 3. But that news isn’t exactlyg good. It’s just less bad than other developments, and expertws expect plenty more pain to Chief financial officers polled recently by and CFO magazine expect the recessiohn to last through the endof 2009. CFOs in the U.S. and Europs expect unemployment to keep rising in the next 12 perhaps to as high as 12percen domestically. Meanwhile, the nonfarm payrolls repor from the government Friday is expected toshow 550,00o0 jobs lost in May, and unemploymentt climbing above 9 percent.
While Wal-Mart announced its hiring plans, other retailers reported dismal results forMay same-store sales. Sales fell 4.8 percent at the 30 retailersa trackedby . Sales fell 6.1 percentf at Target, Macy’s sales fell more than 9 and sales dipped7 percent. Such pessimismk adds weight to Wal-Mart’s decision to keep on despite the fact thatother U.S. retailers like and Macy’s have slashecd payrolls in recent months. Wal-Mart this year will fill positions from cashieres and sales associatesto pharmacists, human resourc managers and customer service The company will add 1,000 or more workers in California, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey, South Carolina, Utah and Virginia.
But the generallh grim climate raises the Is anybody out there otherthan Wal-Mary on the hunt for new employees The answer in one major Southeasrt market is encouraging. The Charlotte Business Journal reports that therr are jobs to be had evenin ’a hard-hit hometown, where local unemployment is over 11 You just have to know where to “The defining feature for who is hirin g is not the size of the firm, but quits frankly, what is that firm doing?” N.C. State economisgt Mike Walden told thebusinesz journal.
Notably, among the firms the Charlottw Business Journal cited as in thehirinv game: discount retailers, just like