Athletic-wear retailer Dick's Sporting Goods said on Tuesday it would recruit 8,600 workers across the United States for the holiday shopping season, less than its proposed hiring for the same period a year earlier.

The company's announcement comes close on the heels of conservative holiday hiring plans announced by retailers Target and department store retailer Macy's last week. Dick's Sporting Goods last year had said it would hire 9,000 temporary employees for the holiday season.

A report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas earlier this month showed that retailers in the U.S. would hire the lowest number of seasonal workers this holiday season since 2008, as they battle increased labor costs.

Holiday sales in the U.S. are estimated to grow at their slowest pace in five years, a report from Deloitte showed earlier this month, as household budgets shrink amid high inflation.

In contrast, big-box retailer Target said it would hire at about the same levels as the last two years for the holiday season, while online shopping giant Amazon.com said it plans to hire 67% more employees than it did during the past two years.

Sporting goods retailers such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Nike and Foot Locker are battling weak wholesale demand in the U.S. as consumers cut down on spending on pricier discretionary items such as sporting apparel.

(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)