NAPLES, Fla - With 12 weeks to go before Christmas, major retailers are already starting to hire for the holidays.

Toys R Us announced they will hire 45,000 employees this holiday season, that's up from last year. Local employment experts say that could translate into anywhere form 10-50 jobs at any given store.

"Just about anyone in retail is going to be doing some hiring," says Beth Barger at Southwest Florida Works. She says, locally, they've already seen several people hired for seasonal positions.

A recent national survey of 14 major retailers shows 36 percent plan to hire more seasonal employees than they did last year.

Kohl's plans to bring on more than 52,000 seasonal workers, up 10 percent from last year and rather than waiting, retailers are looking to hire now.

"I think they do that just to prepare the new employees for the holidays so they know and are more experienced for their job and can deal with the customers at a hire volume," says Naples resident Rachel Irwin.

In Southwest Florida, holiday hiring doubles up with hiring for the tourist season, so it's not just big retailers that are looking to add jobs.

"People don't realize that when we talk about seasonal hiring we mean everything from doctors offices to the hospitals will increase nursing staff, anything that touches the service industry, you're going to see an uptake," says Barger.

For those looking for a seasonal job the hope is that part time position will turn into a permanent one. "They'll take anywhere from two to five percent of their employees and they become permanent employees, so that's traditionally how a lot of employees hire here," says Barger.

If you are looking for a job Barger suggests you apply sooner rather than later. There are several job fairs coming up.

- September 28: Southwest Florida Works will host a job fair for retailers in the area

- October 5: Southwest Florida Works will host a job fair for the hospitality industry.

- October 25: Naples Chamber of Commerce and Coastland Center Mall will team up for a job fair; time is TBA

- November 1: Southwest Florida works will host a job fair on the Edison College Campus for the the public and students; time TBA

- November 13: Walgreens and Southwest Florida Works will host a get together for Veterans in the area; details TBA