Retail giant Wal-Mart Stores will hire over 22,000 people this year, a move that will bring cheer to the country's strained labour market grappling with rising unemployment woes.

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The retailer, which is one of the least unscathed entities amid the financial turmoil, would be recruiting people for its new and expanded stores nationwide.

Wal-Mart has said it would "create more than 22,000 jobs in 2009 to staff new or expanded stores in the US".

The company would be taking people for positions including store management, pharmacists, human resource managers, customer service associates, cashiers and sales associates.

In a statement today, the retailer said it would create over 1,000 jobs in several individual states.

Wal-Mart would generate nearly "1,300 jobs in Arizona; 1,000 jobs in California; 1,300 jobs in Florida; 1,500 jobs in Michigan; 1,200 jobs in New Jersey; 1,000 jobs in South Carolina; 1,200 jobs in Utah and 1,100 in Virginia," it said.

Last October, Wal-Mart announced plans to open 142 to 157 new or expanded stores in the US.

Eduardo Castro-Wright, who is Vice-Chairman of Wal-Mart said the firm is proud to create quality jobs for thousands of Americans during this tough economic time.

"Job creation is just one way in which we're working hard every day to help people across this country live better," Castro-Wright noted.

Wal-Mart along with Indian business group Bharti opened their first store in India last week. The joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores Inc was inked in 2007.

Rattled by the raging economic crisis, the US has seen massive job losses in recent months and the official unemployment rate is well above nine per cent.

The jobless rate has been on the rise as companies have resorted to trimming their workforce as part of cost cutting measures.

US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S Bernanke yesterday said more number of jobs could be lost in the next few months.

Wal-Mart has presence in many countries and employs more than 2.1 million associates worldwide.

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