Home Depot plans to add more than 80,000 temporary workers before its busiest season, about 14 percent more than a year ago, as a housing rebound spurs spending on remodeling and landscaping.
The largest U.S. home-improvement retailer is hiring mostly seasonal workers, though some will be offered full-time work, said Tim Crow, Home Depots executive vice president of human resources. Last year, more than half of 70,000 temporary employees were given permanent jobs, he said.
Stores in Charlotte are expected to hire 450, according to the company.
Home Depot is adding workers to run cash registers and work in the garden and other departments this spring as Lowes Cos. Inc. boosts seasonal hiring by 13 percent. Analysts estimate that Atlanta-based Home Depot, which has about 331,000 workers, will report a 10 percent rise in fiscal fourth-quarter sales, the biggest quarterly gain since 2007.
We anticipate good growth in our sales this spring, Crow, 57, said during a telephone interview Tuesday, declining to disclose sales projections. Our business pops in the spring.
Home Depot shares have climbed in the past four years, advancing 47 percent in 2012 when the Standard & Poors 500 Index gained 13 percent.
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities in November rose by the most in more than six years, fueled by mortgage rates near a record low. The S&P/Case-Shiller Index of property values increased 5.5 percent from November 2011, the biggest year-over-year gain since August 2006.
Home Depot, which has more than 2,200 stores, plans to hire 3,500 springtime workers in New York and New Jersey, after hiring about 2,000 in those two states to handle traffic generated by repairs from Hurricane Sandy, Crow said.
The chain plans to add 6,700 seasonal workers in Canada, he said. It is using an online tool to help military veterans and reservists match their skills with positions after making 10,000 such hires last year.
Lowes, the second-biggest home-improvement retailer, said last month that it plans to hire 45,000 part-time seasonal workers and an additional 9,000 permanent employees. The Mooresville-based company added about 40,000 seasonal workers last year.
Underwater borrowers, those who owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth, fell by almost 4 million last year to 7 million, and could drop to 4 million by the end of 2015, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.
We can start to see the housing market as an assist to our growth rather than an anchor, Home Depots Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake said on a conference call Nov. 13. Were not lighting rockets over this and we dont want to get out over our skis, but were starting to see the recovery of the housing market.
Job seekers can apply online at www.careers.homedepot.com.















