Arkansas ? As Wal-Mart Stores Inc. opens about 150 new or expanded stores in the U.S. in 2009, the company expects to hire about 22,000 people for new positions.

Those positions include plenty of cashiers and stock clerks, but the world’s largest retailer will also be adding store managers, pharmacists and personnel workers.

Wal-Mart is holding its annual shareholders meeting today, and employees from its stores around the world are spending the week in Bentonville at company headquarters.

Wal-Mart plans to open between 142 and 157 new or refurbished stores in fiscal 2010, which began Feb. 1. That compares with 191 in fiscal 2009 and 218 the year before that.

Unlike many retailers, Wal-Mart has managed to keep sales growing since the recession began in late 2007, helped greatly by the company’s stock of necessities such as groceries and health and wellness items. With cash tight, many consumers are attempting to spend solely on things they need.