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We know the end-of-the-year holiday season is gearing up when we start to see announcements from big retailers that they will be hiring big numbers of seasonal employees to help shoppers spend their cash. Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) is the first out of the blocks.

The company announced Wednesday that it plans to hire 80,000 seasonal workers this year, the same number it hired last year, to fill temporary jobs in its Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s Backstage stores, as well as positions in the company’s call centers and distribution centers.

Chief Stores Officer John Harper said:

Macy’s, Inc. is focused on providing customers with a great shopping experience, and we wouldn’t be able to do that without our colleagues – who are the key to our success. Seasonal colleagues play an especially important role in the Macy’s holiday shopping experience, whether in a store, a fulfillment or distribution center or in a call center. We’re thrilled to offer seasonal colleagues flexibility, competitive hourly income and a merchandise discount. Additionally, the majority of our colleagues, full-time, part-time and seasonal, are eligible for our Path to Growth Incentive in 2018.

Hiring is expected to be tight this year. There are some 7 million more jobs available right now than there are people to fill them. By the time other retailers like Walmart, Best Buy and Target have announced seasonal hiring plans, another half million or more jobs will be added to the surplus.

Macy’s said that about 23,500 of the seasonal positions would be based in direct-to-consumer fulfillment facilities that support online sales. That’s a year-over-year increase of 5,500. Those jobs will be available at company facilities in Goodyear, Arizona; Cheshire, Connecticut; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Portland, Tennessee; Martinsburg, West Virginia; Sacramento, California; Stone Mountain, Georgia; Secaucus, New Jersey; and Joppa, Maryland.

About 1,500 will be hired to work at call centers in Mason, Ohio; Clearwater, Florida; and Tempe, Arizona. Another 1,000 or so will be hired to support the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and other holiday events.