Home Depot Hiring More Than 70,000 (HD)

The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE: HD) is not getting much attention on news that it is planning to hire more than 70,000 workers for the spring season of 2012.  While many outfits are calling this in-line with 2011, it is actually about 10,000 more than what was stated this time last year.  It turns out that Home Depot ended up hiring close to the 70,000 mark in 2011.

Spring is the best season for the company and the hirings also meet at a time when the housing malaise apex seems to be close.  It is important to realize that Home Depot is not calling for any major housing recovery.  It sees a long bottoming out with gradual improvements.

The next wave of improvements may come if all of the foreclosures are resold to the public.  There will have been many partial projects that were mothballed and need high repairs before tenants can start to rent them.

Keep in mind that Home Depot stock rallied more than 50% from its 2011 lows.