NEW YORK >> Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will hire 60,000 employees to meet increased shopping demand over the holiday season.

The world’s largest retailer said it will have more employees in stores and more registers open during peak hours, and it plans to add department managers at 3,500 stores. Walmart says current employees will have the first choice to pick up additional hours.

The Bentonville, Ark.-based company also hired 60,000 people for holiday season jobs last year, but says it has more employees working more hours in its stores than it did in 2014. The company says most of its holiday-season employees stayed with the company after the holidays ended.

Earlier this year Walmart raised its minimum wage to $9 an hour from $7.25, giving a raise to about 500,000 employees.

Top CEOs downgrade economic outlook

WASHINGTON >> Chief executives at major U.S. companies reduced their hiring and spending plans as their overall assessment for the nation’s economy fell to a two-year low amid concerns about global growth and a potential federal government shutdown, according to a leading industry survey released last week.

The CEO economic outlook index from the Business Roundtable trade group fell to 74.1 in the third quarter of the year, down 7.2 points from the previous quarter.

The figure, a composite of projections for sales, hiring and capital spending over the next six months, fell below its historical average of 80.4 for the first time since 2013, said Randall Stephenson, chief executive of AT&T Inc. and the group’s chairman.