Retailers set hiring record in November

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CHICAGO, Dec. 10 (UPI) -- A human-resources research firm said U.S. retailers added 465,500 jobs in November, topping the record for the month, set in 2007, by 100 jobs.

Job additions for October and November set a pace that could put seasonal holiday hiring at the highest level since 2000 if December hiring matches the total for the same month last year, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported.

The firm analyzed non-seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In a release, the firm said November hiring by retailers was 21 percent higher than November 2011, when 383,700 people were hired.

"Despite all of the uncertainty, all the talk of fiscal cliffs, the widespread damage to retail epicenters on the East Coast by Hurricane Sandy, and the continued growth of e-commerce, retailers are hiring holiday workers in record numbers," said the firm's Chief Executive Officer John Challenger.

"Of course, more people working this holiday season could result in further retail sales gains as more Americans have more spending money in their pockets for gifts," Challenger said.