Companies Hiring in 2012

Some doubted that the lower numbers for individuals applying unemployment benefits was indicative of a possible turnaround for the job market. Economists, however, argued the improved statistics were a turning point in the U.S. economy. The latter group seems on the money as unemployment fell to 8.5 percent in recent weeks and a slew of top name companies announced plans to begin hiring.

1. Home Depot (HD)– The Atlanta based firm announced its intentions to hire more than 70,000 seasonal employees for spring when the company does the bulk of its business. About 50 percent of last year’s seasonal employees became full-time.
2. Boeing (BA)-2011 was a big year for Boeing as the company finally released its much awaited dream liner. Perhaps to help complete orders for the new plane, the Chicago based aeronautics manufacturer said it would be hiring 100 union machinists a week to maximize output by 60 percent by 2014.
3. Nissan (NSANY)-Car sales were strong in 2011 and some predict that could continue to be the case in 2012 as the fleet on U.S. roads is older than it has been in history. With thousands of Americans potentially in the market for a new car, it can be expected that production will have to rise as well. For this reason Nissan intends to add roughly 1,000 jobs across the U.S. in 2012, with most of those being technicians at manufacturing facilities and engineers in its tech department.
4. Apex Systems Inc. Career Builder.com indicates that Apex Systems Inc, a Virginia based staffing firm plans to hire more than 5,000 this year. The company intends to hire across all major industries with an additional focus on those will experience in project management, business intelligence and electronic healthcare records. Electronic records have been in focus for quite some time as President Obama continues to stress their importance in restructuring medical insurance.
5. Griswold Home Care-This Pennsylvania based home care corporation is looking to fill roughly 4,500 positions across the U.S., according to Careerbuilder. The need for caregivers, which most of the positions listed are, will continue to rise as more and more babyboomers enter into old age and retirement.
6. Chobani-New York based Yogurt producers Chobani have begun to expand alongside the shelf space devoted to them in grocery stores across the nation. Chobai’s 2012 hiring is dramatically less than some of the better known companies on the list, adding only 106 jobs. A production facility in Idaho is said to potentially result in over 400 new jobs but the factory remains far from complete.
7. State Farm-Apparently State Farm’s commercials have been working because the company continues to expand. The Illinois based Insurer is hiring 455 people according to Career Builder stats.
8. Mattress Firm Inc. –This Houston based Mattress firm plans to hire 200 new employees to work retail across its 800-plus U.S. locations. Mattress Firm’s website expressed the importance of planning to expand.
9. Town Sports International Health Club (CLUB)-Perhaps heartened by the number of people who signed up for gym memberships on the first of the year, Townsports International announced its intention to hire more than 200 people this year. If Townsports doesn’t sound familiar, some of the gyms its runs from the New York Sports Club to the Philadelphia and Boston Sport Club may ring a bell. Personal trainers, general managers and membership sales consultants are welcome to apply.