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Empresas y finanzas

UPS sees 10 percent rise in holiday shipping, to hire 55,000 workers


    By Lynn Adler

    (Reuters) - United Parcel Service Inc expects shipments during the upcoming holiday season to hit record levels this year, up 10 percent from last year, and plans to hire 55,000 seasonal workers to handle the added volume.

    UPS added the same amount of workers in 2011 to keep pace with a similar increase in holiday shipments.

    The world's largest package delivery company, and rival FedEx Corp , are closely watched for indications of consumer demand, the health of retailers and the state of the economy.

    The company estimates it will deliver 527 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas, which would top last year's record of 480 million, driven by e-commerce.

    As shoppers buy more of their holiday gifts over the Internet, this means more shipping volume for FedEx and UPS, which each have delivery contracts with most of the biggest e-tailers.

    Large chain stores including Toys R Us