Dollar General Corp has said it would recruit up to 20,000 employees this spring, the latest company to plan a hiring spree as more parts of the US economy reopen and fiscal stimulus kicks in.
But the number was lower than the more than 50,000 workers the company hired around the same time last year, which was nearly double its normal hiring rate, to support a surge in sales at its stores at the height of COVID-19 lockdowns.
The discount retailer said in a statement on Wednesday that it would host hiring events from this month to fill positions in its stores, distribution centres and corporate offices.
Strengthening domestic demand, the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and additional pandemic aid from the government have boosted companies' needs for workers, with McDonald's Corp and Yum Brands' Taco Bell saying recently that they were looking to hire thousands of workers.
Outlook
Last month, the company forecast annual sales and profit below estimates, indicating the roll out of vaccines and a reopening economy would lead to a bigger-than-expected slowdown from a pandemic-fuelled rush for discounted groceries.
Dollar General said it expects full-year same-store sales to fall 4% to 6%, compared with analysts' estimate of a 1.2% decline, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Overall net sales are expected to be flat to 2% lower, compared with estimates of a 1.4% increase.
Same-store sales in the fourth quarter ended 29 January rose 12.7%, beating analysts' estimate of a 10.7% increase, helped by the $600 stimulus checks that boosted spending in January.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
