Home Depot said it plans to hire 600 people at its Kansas City area stores for its busy spring season, up about 14 percent from a year ago.

It is part of the home improvement retailer’s plan to hire 80,000 seasonal workers across the country.

Home Depot said more than half of the 70,000 spring hires last year later gained long-term jobs at the company.

For returning military and veterans who are interested in a position, Home Depot recently launched an online Military Skills Translator to match military skills with positions within the company. The skills translator and a calendar of military hiring events are at www.careers.homedepot.com/military.

For more information on the spring openings, apply at careers.homedepot.com. Select “In-Store Hourly” in Kansas City.