NEW YORK — Wal-Mart’s slowdown in opening new stores – part of an effort to cope with sluggish brick-and-mortar sales – is now being touted as a growth plan.

On Tuesday, the company announced its intention to open, expand or relocate 59 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club locations this year. While that adds 10,000 retail jobs, the expansion is far smaller than in many previous years and would increase its headcount by less than 1 percent in the U.S.

Wal-Mart faces more pressure to show that it’s creating U.S. jobs ahead of Friday’s inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, who has made the issue a signature of his campaign. In a statement Tuesday, Wal-Mart pointed to a plan for $6.8 billion in U.S. capital spending, including the construction of stores and distribution centers, though it previously announced that number last year.

“Trump is not afraid to get out in the press and tweet,” said Brian Yarbrough, an analyst at Edward Jones. “This is another sign of them trying to get out in front of things.”

Investors applauded the approach, sending Wal-Mart’s shares up as much as 3.2 percent to $69.29. The gain was the biggest intraday increase since May and moved the stock into positive territory for the year.

Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the U.S., casting a big spotlight on the company as Trump heads for the White House. It has almost 1.5 million workers in the U.S., out of 2.3 million total. In addition to the 10,000 retail positions, the new and expanded stores will bring an estimated 24,000 construction jobs this year, the company said.

“We’re going to be selective in what we’re opening,” said Randy Hargrove, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based company.

Trump saluted GM and Wal-Mart in a tweet on Tuesday, thanking them for “starting the big jobs push back into the U.S.!”

But When Wal-Mart originally announced its capital-spending plan in October, it was characterized as a slowdown of new store openings. The company told investors it would count more on e-commerce and existing stores.