Hey, someone must be shopping.  Major retailers across the board are planning to add thousands of temporary employees during the upcoming holiday season.  While seasonal cashiers aren’t a new development, it’s worth pointing out that despite the ongoing economic slump, many stores are actually hiring more holiday workers than last year:

• Kohl’s plans to hire 4,000 seasonal employees, a 5% increase from 2010.
• Macy’s is taking on 78,000, up 4% from last year.
• Target didn’t specify a number, but said they would be looking for more holiday workers than in 2010, when they hired 92,000.
• J.C. Penney took on 30,000 people last year; this year the number they’re aiming for is 35,000.
• Neither Nordstrom nor Saks Fifth Avenue are releasing data, but both department stores expect to take on the same amount of holiday workers, or slightly more, than in 2010.

That’s a positive set of numbers building on a previously healthy increase in 2010, when the retail sector added 496,000 seasonal workers overall (49% more than in 2009).  For those in need of some extra employment and cash for the holidays, as well as for shoppers who just want help finding sweaters for their grandparents, retail seems to be setting up a boon season.