Enlarge By Ben Margot, AP A Target store advertises for employment, in Daly City, Calif. Holiday retail sales are expected to be up only slightly this year, but the news may be better for those looking to work in retailing around Christmas. Increased online sales, more temporary stores and guarded optimism about the season are leading some retailers to expand their workforces more than usual for the holidays. The National Retail Federation predicts holiday sales will be up just 2.3% this year. John Challenger, CEO of consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, says recent sales increases will lead retailers to step up hiring but he predicts it will fall short of pre-recession levels. Holiday hiring hit a 22-year low in 2008 and increased by 54% last year. RECOVERY WATCH: Tracking the economy JOBS OUTLOOK: Latest data for all states, 384 metros Retailers overall added more than 220,000 new workers between March and September, Challenger says. Privately held retailers, however, have been slow to hire, so they are well-positioned to add people if sales warrant, says Melinda Crump of Sageworks, which provides data on private companies. Payroll costs as a percentage of sales are down 12% for independent retailers this year over last, she says. What's prompting the hiring: •More temporary stores.Toys R Us is hiring 45,000 seasonal workers this holiday season, up 10,000 from last year. The additional workers will staff 600 new temporary stores the chain will open this fall. Brookstone, the gift and gadget retailer, is adding 36% more holiday workers — 900 people altogether — this year than it did last year for the expected increase in business and to work in 150 temporary stores and kiosks. "We're bullish on the holiday this year, and, yes, we're hiring," Brookstone CEO Ron Boire says. •More in-store business. A recent survey by retail finance company CIT found 68% of retailers expect to hire more workers this season than last; the same percentage said they expected revenue to increase in the next 12 months. Macy's is predicting a 3% to 3.5% rise in sales in the second half of fiscal year 2010 and says the 65,000 holiday workers it plans to hire is a slight increase over last year. Kohl's plans to hire 40,000 seasonal workers, up 20% from 2009. •More online sales. Arise Virtual Solutions, which provides several major retailers with customer service people who work out of their homes, says it plans to hire 6,000 more of these call-center people by the end of the year to cope with the increase in online sales. Arise CEO Angela Selden says these at-home workers adapt easily to the ebb and flow of business. Lexsine Mitchell, an at-home customer service representative for Arise since 2004 with 426 people reporting to her, says the work fits her life as a single mom. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more