UPS to hire 50,000 temporary workers for holidays

ATLANTA — UPS plans to hire about 50,000 temporary workers to handle the crush of holiday shipments this year.
United Parcel Service said Tuesday that it expects to deliver 430 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

The busiest day should be Wednesday, Dec. 22, when UPS expects to deliver 24 million packages worldwide, up nearly 60 percent from a normal day.

Rival FedEx said it expects to move nearly 16 million packages on its peak day, Dec. 13.

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Economists watch the predictions from UPS and FedEx for hints about the direction of the economy. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, and many consumer goods are handled by UPS or FedEx.

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