The retail sector appears to be on track to a significant economic rebound, with nearly two-thirds of the country's major metropolitan areas reporting job growth over the past year.
According to analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 74 markets experienced upticks in retail employment between 2010 and 2011, with New York and Providence making the largest gains, the Business Journals reports.
Other markets that saw impressive retail job growth included Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Seattle and Salt Lake City. The sector continued to struggle in parts of California, Virginia and the Northeast.
Meanwhile, one of nation's largest growers, Bell Nursery, has announced it will be looking to recruit for 900 retail seasonal positions at more than 200 Home Depot stores.
"As a company, 70 percent of our sales are during spring season, which means we are pushing a lot of product into the stores,” Gary Mangum, Bell Nursery chief executive officer told Garden Center Magazine.
The company provides plant materials and on-site merchandising teams that present and care for the plants at Home Depots through the Northeast, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia and the southern Ohio Valley.