9 Companies Hiring for the Holidays

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Santa Claus is bringing jobs -- and delivering a brief reprieve from decrepit unemployment numbers in the form of holiday helpers.

Retailers will add between 550,000 and 650,000 jobs this holiday season, according to a report from the national outsourcing firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

Last year, 501,400 seasonal workers were hired in October, November and December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a 30% increase from 2008, when holiday hiring fell to a 22-year low of just 384,300 workers. Still, the figure is nowhere near 2007 levels, when 720,800 jobs were added.

Retail Sticking with Part-timers

While these temporary jobs probably won't be enough to significantly boost the nation's 9.6% unemployment rate, it could provide shoppers a little extra cash this holiday season, which in turn, could lift retail sales. Research firms are calling for holiday sales to come in about flat to up 3.5%.

Read on to see which retailers will be hiring this holiday season....