Up to 7,800 Nevadans expected to be hired for holiday retail jobs

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The Retail Association of Nevada said in a statement Wednesday that it expects hiring in Nevada to remain in line with that of 2012, which was up 2.6 percent compared to 2011. That translates to up to as many as 7,800 people across Nevada who are expected to be added to retail payrolls during the holiday season.

Across the U.S., retailers are expected to add between 720,000 and 780,000 seasonal hires during the holiday season. The National Retail Federation expects peak-season hiring to at least be in line with actual hires in 2012 or grow by as much as 8.3 percent, which falls short of last year’s actual growth of 13 percent.

Major national retailers that have announced hiring outlooks include Amazon and Macy’s, both of which will be hiring more holiday employees than last year, with additions expected to be up about 40 percent and 4 percent, respectively. Conversely, Target will be hiring 18,000 fewer employees than last year, a decline of 20.5 percent. In addition, employers will be offering more opportunities to existing work forces, with companies such as Wal-Mart transitioning 35,000 employees from temporary to part-time positions and an equal number from part-time to full-time positions.

Officials’ hiring estimates for Nevada project 2,979 new employees for Amazon, 885 at Macy’s, 554 at Kohl’s, 748 at Target, 595 at Wal-Mart and 607 at Toys ‘R’ Us.

In its statement, the retail association cited figures released by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, which showed retail hiring increased in Nevada by 7,800 jobs from September to December 2012. During the past five years, the Nevada retail sector grew by an average of 5,800 jobs during the same time (September to December of each year), the retail association noted.

By comparison, the associated noted that in 2012, it estimated that seasonal hiring would fall somewhere between 5,800 and 7,600 workers, with the actual increase coming in at 7,800. In 2007 (just prior to the recession), approximately 7,900 seasonal jobs were added during the holidays.