Target Corp. plans to hire up to 300 employees next week for its Kona store slated to open in July.

The retailer has scheduled a four-day job fair May 14-17 at the Sheraton Keauhou Bay Resort & Spa convention center.

"We are excited to provide new job opportunities to the Kona community as we prepare to open our store," said Rob Parke, Target district team leader.

Target is seeking to fill positions including shift managers, cashiers and stock clerks.

Interviews will be held each day from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Candidates can fill out applications for hourly positions ahead of time online at target.com/careers.

Target said it expects to make job offers on the same day applicants interview for positions.

The Kona Target will be the largest tenant of Kona Commons, a roughly 615,000-square-foot retail complex slated for construction in two initial phases representing about half the center's total retail space, followed by a third phase in the next few years.

The jobs are welcome news for the Big Island, where the 10.2 unemployment rate in March was second only to Kaua'i, where the jobless rate was 10.3 percent.

Target also has been advertising on the Internet for various positions at the Kona store, including pharmacists and "team leaders."

Target received an overwhelming response on O'ahu in December when it held a four-day job fair to hire an estimated 1,000 to 1,200 workers for two stores that opened in March in Salt Lake and Kapolei.

The first job seekers showed up at 11 p.m. the night before for a job fair that was scheduled to start at 9 a.m. the following morning.