Macy’s Inc. announced Monday it plans to hire about 80,000 seasonal workers for its Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores, call centers, distribution centers and online fulfillment centers nationwide for the 2012 holiday season, up about 2.5 percent from the 78,000 hired in 2011.

The Cincinnati-based department store chain joins Kohl’s, Walmart and Toys R Us as major retailers who have announced they will hire tens of thousands of temporary employees this holiday season.

Macy’s operates stores at the Dayton Mall in Miami Twp., the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek and the Upper Valley Mall in Springfield, and has several locations in the Cincinnati area, including the Tri-County Mall and Kenwood Towne Center.

“Hiring additional associates for holidays ensures that our customers are well-served in this busy shopping period — both on the sales floor and behind the scenes,” Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s chairman and CEO, said in a news release. “Moreover, our seasonal positions help a wide range of Americans earn extra money. In many cases, these are students working to help pay tuition, retirees seeking to remain active and individuals wanting to supplement their income.”

Seasonal employees at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s serve customers on the selling floor, work in store operations positions, interact with customers via the telephone in call centers, and staff the distribution and fulfillment centers that coordinate shipments to stores and directly to customers who buy online, according to the company’s news release.

Most of the positions are part-time, but can lead to year-round positions, company officials said. Applications are being accepted at www.macysJOBS.com and www.bloomingdalesJOBS.com.

Macy’s, with corporate offices in Cincinnati and New York, operates about 840 department stores in 45 states.