Sept 19 (Reuters) - Macy's said on Thursday it

will hire more than 31,500 full and part-time employees for the

upcoming holiday season - fewer than last year - as the U.S.

department store gears up for a busy shopping period.

U.S. retailers are expected to hire fewer workers this

holiday season than in 2023 due to a softer labor market and

tighter consumer spending heading into the crucial shopping

period, according to a report earlier this week by Challenger,

Gray & Christmas.

Macy's had said last year it would recruit about 38,000

employees, while in 2022 it announced to take on around 41,000

workers.

A Deloitte forecast showed U.S. holiday sales are expected

to grow at their slowest pace in six years as persistent

inflation and depleted savings turn shoppers more frugal ahead

of the holiday shopping period.

Holiday season sales generally account for more than half of

U.S. retailers' annual revenue.

Parcel delivery firm UPS separately said it plans to

hire 125,000 workers for the holiday period, which is more than

the 100,000 it had hired last year, to prepare for the busy

shipping season.

"The year-over-year increase in our seasonal hiring allows

us to be even more confident that we will meet anticipated

customer needs," UPS said in an emailed statement.