ATLANTA (AP) -- Home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. said Thursday that it will hire 70,000 seasonal workers for the spring season, its biggest season.

The number is about the same as last year, company spokesman Stephen Holmes said.

Spring is the biggest season for home improvement projects as homeowners work on projects for their homes, gardens and lawns.

Last year, about half of the seasonal workers were hired permanently as cashiers, sales, lot and garden staffers. Home Depot employs about 300,000 workers overall.

Home-goods sellers are facing cautious consumer spending and a prolonged weak housing market. They've had to adjust to fewer consumers making large-scale home renovations by cutting costs and improving services such as online shopping and customer service.

But results are slowly improving. Home Depot Inc.'s net income for the third-quarter ended Oct. 30 rose 12 percent while revenue edged up 4 percent to $17.33 billion from $16.6 billion last year.

Its shares rose 15 cents to $43.61 in premarket trading Thursday.