UPS will hire about 50,000 people for the holiday season

UPS will hire about 50,000 people for the holiday season

Updated 1h 10m ago

ATLANTA (AP) — UPS says it will hire about 50,000 temporary workers to handle the crush of holiday shipments this year.

United Parcel Service(UPS) said Tuesday that it expects to deliver 430 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The busiest day should be Wednesday, Dec. 22, when UPS expects to deliver 24 million packages worldwide, up nearly 60% from a normal day.

Rival FedEx says it expects to move nearly 16 million packages on its peak day, Dec. 13, up more than 12% from last year. FedEx says it will move more than 223 million shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Economists watch predictions from UPS and FedEx for hints about the direction of the economy. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and many consumer goods are handled by UPS and FedEx.

Last week, Amazon.com said it would hire 15,500 to help during the holidays at its shipping centers around the country.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2 ... ring_N.htm