Companies you'd never expect are offering signing bonuses to new employees

America's stores are having trouble bringing on staff to meet growing demand from customers as the US economy regains steam. So they're turning to an incentive less commonly deployed in the retail industry: sign-on bonuses for new hires.

Amazon (AMZN), Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI), Tops Markets supermarket chain, Sheetz convenience stores and many smaller stores are offering such one-time payments to sweeten job offers to new workers. Sign-on bonuses can be more attractive for some employers than raising wages because bonuses are not permanent and ultimately cheaper, said Andrew Challenger, vice president at executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. READ MORE