Target fired the first salvo of this year’s holiday hiring wars on Monday, saying that it would raise its minimum hourly wage to $11 next month and then to $15 an hour by the end of 2020.

Target said that the increase from the current base of $10 an hour would apply to the 100,000 seasonal workers it plans to hire for the fall and winter. The bump will also affect thousands of Target’s 323,000 regular employees, the company said.

Target and its competitors are contending with a nationwide unemployment rate that dropped to 4.3 percent in May and July — the lowest level in 16 years — before ticking up slightly in August. With a shallow pool of job seekers, they must compete harder for workers to handle the holiday shopping crush.

Retailers are closing thousands of stores this year as they try to cut costs and compete with online retailers, most notably Amazon. But come the Christmas season — the busiest period of the year for the industry — malls are still swamped and stores need all the help they can get.