Toys"R"Us, Kohl's look to fill more than 100,000 holiday jobs

Kohl’s and Toys"R"Us are among the first retailers to announce their holiday hiring plans this year, and the numbers are more or less the same as last year for both companies.

Toys”R”Us plans to hire 40,000 employees at its stores and distribution centers throughout the country (about 5,000 less than last year). The retailer also plans to allow seasonal workers the opportunity to take on significantly more hours than in previous years, while also continuing to provide extra hours to current employees.

"Our expanded workforce, together with our more tenured toy experts, plays a pivotal role in ensuring we provide an exceptional experience for shoppers in search of gifts that will bring huge smiles to the children in their lives," said Dave Brandon, chairman and CEO, Toys"R"Us, Inc. "We are seeking enthusiastic, highly motivated and customer-focused individuals to join our team during this busy, but very exciting time of year. Our seasonal staff helps us make parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles holiday heroes, and we are proud that many members of our workforce began as seasonal employees and have remained with us as they grow their careers."

Toys"R"Us also says it plans to leverage its social channels to feature unique stories of employees from across the country to inspire little ones and spread holiday cheer. Potential applicants and social media users are encouraged to learn more and join the conversation using #ToyExperts on the company's Careers channels: Facebook.com/Ruscareers, @ToysrusCareers on Twitter andInstagram and LinkedIn, as well as the official Toys"R"Us Twitter and Instagram accounts, @Toysrus.

Meanwhile, Kohl's plans to hire an extra 69,000 workers for the holiday selling season, about 3% more than last year. Kohl's, which has 1,166 stores, said it would hire an average of 50 workers per store.

The company said it also expected to hire about 9,500 seasonal workers at its distribution and e-commerce fulfillment centers and about 660 in its credit operations. Most positions will be filled by mid-November, the company said.