Lowe’s Companies Inc. announced this week that it is hiring more than 45,000 seasonal workers, including 662 in Southern California.

The Mooresville, N.C-based home improvement chain plans to add a total of 1,640 workers in California. Hiring is already underway and openings are available for cashiers, lawn and garden associates, stockers and others who assemble outdoor products.

The company is also hiring loaders to assist the increasing number of customers who order merchandise online at Lowes.com and pick them up at their local store, a trend that accounts for about 60 percent of the retailer’s online orders.

Hourly pay varies depending upon experience

Lowe’s didn’t reveal how much the jobs pay but PayScale.com shows the average hourly rate for a Lowe’s cashier ranges from $9.05 an hour to $12.71 an hour, depending upon experience. Lowe’s plans to hire 359 people in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area, 279 in the Inland Empire and 24 in Ventura County.

Company spokeswoman Sarah Lively said hiring always ramps up this time of year.

“Warmer weather makes tackling indoor or outdoor home improvement projects easier,” she said. “During this time of year we generally see increased interest in landscaping, outdoor living projects and general home maintenance, such as painting, renovations and kitchen and bath refreshes.”

Many seasonal hires end up with permanent jobs

Lively said about half of the seasonal hires Lowe’s brings on each year end up with permanent full-time or part-time positions. That could be an incentive for someone to get hired and move up, as other jobs with the company pay considerably more.

PayScale says the average pay for a sales specialist at Lowe’s ranges from $12.94 an hour to $19.30 an hour, depending on experience, while department managers earn anywhere from $15.22 an hour to $20.18 an hour.

People who are interested in applying for the posted positions can visit jobs.lowes.com.

Lowe’s has stepped up hiring even more in other regions

The influx of seasonal jobs coming to Southern California is certainly welcome but Lowe’s is adding considerably more in other regions. New York tops the list, where the company is looking to hire 1,809 people. That’s followed by Philadelphia (1,323), Boston (1,116), Charlotte, N. C. (1,114), Raleigh-Durham, N.C. (1,043) and Pittsburgh (981).

Other companies have announced store closures

Lowe’s hiring spree is especially welcome in light of recent store closures that have been announced by other companies.

Macy’s announced last month that it plans to close 68 underperforming stores and slash 10,100 jobs as it continues to struggle in the face of increasing competition from online retailers and big-box discounters like Walmart and Target. Hudson’s Bay, the Canadian-based owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, is reportedly in talks to acquire Macy’s network of stores.

Sears Holdings also announced recently that it’s looking to stem its bleeding by closing another 150 stores, including 108 Kmart locations.

With an improving economy, people are ready to spend more on home improvement

Lars Perner, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business, said Lowe’s is well positioned for increased business.

“We’ve come out of the recession and people are starting to feel more secure,” he said. “So they’re starting in on those home improvement projects they’ve been putting off — projects they can now afford to do. And when you’re in the middle of a home improvement project you’ll often find that you have to go and buy additional supplies on short notice.”

Lowe’s has operations in the US, Canada and Mexico

Lowe’s and its related businesses operate or service more than 2,355 home improvement and hardware stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Lowe’s Canada also recently announced plans to hire about 2,800 seasonal employees across its 54 Lowe’s banner stores for the spring and summer seasons.

Lowe’s reported net earnings of $379 million for its fiscal third quarter ended Oct. 28, 2016. That included non-tax, pre-cash charges of $462 million for the company’s wind-down of a joint venture called Hydrox, write-offs for projects that were cancelled, and a decline in the value of assets associated with the company’s Orchard Supply Hardware operations. Excluding those charges, Lowe’s third quarter net earnings were $775 million, a 5.3 percent increase over the same period a year ago.

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