By Tiffany Hsu - Los Angeles Times

The job outlook at America’s small businesses is the worst it’s ever been, according to the new Gallup Small Business Index.

Last month, 21 percent of small-business owners said they expected to lower head count over the next six months – the highest percentage recorded by the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index since its launch in 2003. In July, the last time the data was compiled, 10 percent of bosses said they planned to shrink employee ranks.

Kohl's Department Stores plans to hire about 350 people in the Triangle for the holiday season.

The chain which 1,146 stores nationwide, including nine in the Triangle announced on Tuesday that it would hire 52,700 sales associates for the holidays or an average of 41 per store. That's a 4 percent increase over its holiday hiring last year.

Walmart has started hiring 200 employees for its new Durham store, scheduled to open in late October.

Most of the new hires will begin work in September to help get the store ready for its grand opening.

The world's largest retailer is also one of the biggest employers in North Carolina. In this state, the company employs more 52,000 people at 161 stores and three distribution centers.

Two employment-staffing firms will hold job fairs this week in Raleigh to fill more than 600 positions.

The mass-hiring efforts come as the state unemployment rate rose to 9.9 percent in June, the first increase in more than a year, and the highest level since last fall.

Manpower will hold job fairs Tuesday and Saturday at its local office at 1122 Oberlin Road to fill more than 200 customer-service positions at a call center. The contract jobs will pay about $13 an hour, and will end on a staggered basis starting in mid-December.

Kelly Services expects hundreds to turn out for its fair on Thursday and wants to fill the jobs within the next few weeks. The agency is recruiting 400 employees for two clients:

A Raleigh company that provides shipping, transportation and various support services for pharmaceutical companies and other customers is seeking to hire more than 50 drivers as its business expands.

Longistics will hold a job fair at its headquarters on Saturday to find qualified candidates. The average starting salary for its drivers is $60,000 a year.

The private company, run by the husband-and-wife team of Duane and Pat Long, has won several new contracts and is also seeing a pickup in business with existing customers.

Officials at 12-year-old Durham semiconductor startup Nitronex say they finally see a light at the end of the tunnel and expect the company to post its first profit next year and increase staff size.

It would be a long-overdue turnaround for Nitronex, which moved its office from Raleigh to Durham in 2008 in exchange for $100,000 in city incentives and promises to hire 200 people.

Nitronex currently employs about 55 people, after laying off a dozen workers during the recession. The company, which makes semiconductors that transmit radio signals, expects to grow to 75-100 employees in the next several years.

Corporate financial executives are less optimistic about the U.S. economy, and businesses remain reluctant to hire in the face of worries about inflation, weak demand and other factors.

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants released its second-quarter Economic Outlook Survey this morning, showing that its outlook index dropped three points to 66. The survey of 1,093 CPAs was conducted May 11-26.

While a reading higher than 50 is still positive for growth, the decline reinforces recent data showing a broader pullback in the economy. The executives surveyed, including chief financial officers, are considered good predictors of the broader economy, since they oversee companies' finances and help set strategy.

"The flush of optimism we experienced earlier this year has given way to more moderate expectations for the U.S. economy,” Carol Scott, AICPA vice president for business, industry and government, said on a conference call. "We've lost a lot of the momentum we had earlier this year."

This was the first quarter the AICPA, a trade group with offices in Durham, conducted its survey without the help of UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

McDonald's is preparing a hiring binge to fill nearly 50,000 openings nationwide, including about 360 in the Triangle.

The fast-food chain will hold its first annual hiring day on April 19, when it will accept applications and hold in-person interviews.

McDonald's is adding staff as its business improves and more of its restaurants stay open 24 hours a day. The economic recovery also is creating more turnover as other employers start to increase hiring.

A Chapel Hill company is looking to hire 30 customer service reps to take customer calls for local cable television systems nationwide.

American Support said today it's looking to make the hires by Feb. 21, when it begins training classes for the new customer service reps. The company hired 26 customer service reps in January.

The employees can be based anywhere in the country will be expected to work out of their homes, using their own computers, Internet accounts and dedicated phone lines. American Support requires the applicants to have a quiet area at home where they can work.

Walmart has started hiring for the 430 positions at its new North Raleigh store near Triangle Town Center. That store is scheduled to open in early 2011.

Walmart is hiring for all areas of the store, including supervisory positions. The majority of the people hired will begin work in December to help prepare for the store opening.

The retailer has set up a temporary hiring center at the Morrisville Outlet Mall, 1001 Airport Blvd. Applicants can visit the center between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. People can also apply online at http://walmartstores.com/Careers/7745.aspx.