British clothing and food retailer Marks & Spencer said on Monday that it plans to recruit 10,000 temporary workers for the Christmas season, a more than 40% increase on last year.
The group, one of the best known in Britain, said the increase reflected the additional investment it is making in staff hours to support customers on the shop floor.
The temporary workers will start from 19 November.
In August, M&S raised its profit outlook on the back of strong trading and last month it rejoined Britain's FTSE 100.
FTSE stock index after a four-year hiatus.
Shares in M&S are up 76% so far this year.
Sainsbury's
Last week, supermarket group Sainsbury's said that it was recruiting 22,000 temporary workers for Christmas, a 22% increase on last year as it boosted its labour force earlier in the season than usual.
Tesco
Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, said it would take on 30,000, the same as last year.
Earlier this month, the supermarket group raised its annual profit forecast and said it was upbeat about prospects for Christmas trading.
It said the jobs would mainly be in its larger supermarkets with roles on checkouts, store replenishment and picking orders for home delivery.
A spokesperson for Tesco said that last year it initially targeted the recruitment of 15,000 temporary workers but ended up taking on 30,000.
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
