It's a tight labor market so maybe it's not a big surprise that Wal-Mart doesn't want to ramp up seasonal hiring this year but it also speaks volumes about how much business they expect to do at Christmas.
Demand is clearly slowing and large US retailers have an inventory-overhang issue that they're trying to clean up. I don't think anyone truly knows the strength of the US consumer right now but a year ago, companies were preparing for sales to be strong. Now they're preparing for sales to be weak. That kind of behaviour can be self-fulfilling.
