NEW YORK, United States (AP) — Walmart is moving more of its workers full-time as the nation’s largest private employer looks for more ways to attract and retain employees.

The company said yesterday that it plans to have two-thirds of its US store hourly jobs be full-time with more consistent work schedules by the end of its current fiscal year. That’s up from 53 per cent five years ago, the company said.

With the move, Walmart will have 740,000 of its 1.2 million US Walmart hourly store workers working full time by early next year. That would mean it will have about 110,00 more full-time workers than it did five years ago.

Walmart employs roughly 1.5 million workers in the US, including those at Sam’s Club, distribution centres, and in corporate and managerial jobs.

Drew Holler, Walmart’s senior vice-president of US people operations, told the Associated Press that workers were demanding full-time jobs, which have better health and dental benefits. Holler also noted that full-time work offers the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer a competitive edge as it’s able to retain and attract better employees in a fiercely competitive environment. The moves also come as the exploding pickup and delivery businesses are calling for more full-time jobs as Walmart’s stores operate both as fulfilment centres and retail spaces.

“We know offering more full-time opportunities along with skills training and equipping associates with tools to make work easier will help us continue to attract and retain top talent,” Holler wrote in a corporate blog.

Walmart’s increasing focus on full-time jobs also comes as it’s creating a team-based structure in its stores, where groups of eight to 12 workers work together in an area like toys or clothing and get cross-trained.

Walmart considers any employee working 34 hours or more a week full-time, although anyone working 30 hours a week or more is eligible for health coverage. With team scheduling, Walmart workers will have consistent 39- to 40-hour schedules, the retailer said.

But Walmart’s has been criticised by labour-backed groups and its own workers for lagging behind retailers like Target, Amazon and Costco. Costco just raised its minimum hourly wage to US$16, while the starting pay at Target and Amazon is $15 per hour. Walmart last raised its entry-level wages for US hourly employees to $11 in early 2018, though it’s been raising starting wages for certain jobs. Holler says Walmart is focusing more on creating clear pathways with better training so workers can move up the ladder.

Cynthia Murray, a 20-year associate in Hyattsville, Maryland, and member of United for Respect, a worker advocacy group, says she’s encouraged that more workers at Walmart will be full-time. But she says the company needs to take “greater action to respect us”.

“If Walmart truly wants to retain associates and offer ‘stability and room for growth’ we are happy to meaningfully engage with them on our requests, which include moving to a full US$15 minimum wage for all employees immediately, cost-of-living increases to long-time employees, and giving us a seat on the board,” she wrote in an e-mailed statement.

The approach toward full-time staffing also comes as online behemoth Amazon recently faced the biggest union push in its history. Walmart Inc declined to comment on whether its efforts were a way to head off any similar efforts.