ATLANTA - The Home Depot says it is filling more than 80,000 positions of seasonal workers for its stores and distribution facilities. To help new hires learn their way around, Home Depot is equipping them with the next generation of its in-store mobile technology, called the FIRST Phone.

Home Depot deployed approximately forty thousand of the new web-enabled devices to help these workers expedite checkout, conduct mobile check-out, locate products, check inventory, and explain product features.

Competitor Lowe's hired 30,000 for the spring season. The large hiring numbers are indicative of an improving economy and a stronger recovery in the housing sector, and homeowners' willingness to take on home improvement projects and invest in large items for their homes.

The Home Depot reported sales of $19.2 billion for the fourth quarter, an 8.3 percent increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. Sales for fiscal year 2014 were $83.2 billion, an increase of 5.5 percent from fiscal year 2013.