Walmart plans to spend $1 billion raising the pay for about 500,000 US staff this year as the world’s largest retailer by sales offered further signs that sales in the US are beginning to recover.

Walmart sales rose 1.5 per cent in the three months to January 30th, marking two consecutive quarterly increases.

Walmart’s focus on low prices has seen it grow to a $278 billion company, but it has drawn fierce criticism over the pay and conditions of its workers.

Doug McMillon, chief executive, said the retailer was announcing “comprehensive changes to our hiring, training, compensation and scheduling programmes, as well as to our store management structure”.

Staff benefiting from the new policy will from April earn at least $9 an hour, Walmart said. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2015