Meijer will hire 12,000 employees this holiday season, including 2,500 in Ohio, and some of those jobs will be permanent rather than seasonal positions, company officials announced Tuesday.

“We are in growth mode,” said Meijer spokesman Frank J. Guglielmi. “We are optimistic about how things are looking in the months ahead.”

Guglielmi said many Meijer stores are currently understaffed, “so our goal is to get up to full staff and to hire for the holidays.”

Meijer operates 10 stores in the Dayton, Springfield and northern Cincinnati areas. About 45 percent of store employees are full-time, and 55 percent are part-time, Guglielmi said. Staffing needs vary from store to store, although all Meijer stores have positions available, company officials said. Online applications are available at www.jobs.meijer.com.

Meijer officials said while most of the seasonal jobs are part-time, those positions can lead to a full-time position. “It is a wonderful opportunity to get your foot in the door and demonstrate success within a growing company, ”said Jenny Hawat, Meijer vice president of talent recruitment and retention.

Grocery sales in Meijer stores have been strong, “and we’re seeing additional momentum in the general-merchandise area as well,” Guglielmi said. Meijer stores are open 24 hours, and close only on Christmas Day.

Meijer operates 199 “supercenters” and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. The company added two stores in 2012 in Michigan and in the Chicago area, and plans to add six stores in 2013, although none of the new stores are in Ohio, Guglielmi said.

Janet Emerson, executive vice president of operations for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer, said in a news release that, “Our goal is to deliver the best customer experience and the lowest prices, and as we continue to grow it’s so important that we have the right levels of staff and the right people in those roles.”