Amazon hopes to hire 125,000 more workers, $18+ per hour average salary

Amazon wants to hire 125,000 delivery and warehouse workers and said Tuesday that it is paying new hires an average of $18 an hour in a tight job market as more people shop online.

The company is also offering pay sign-on bonuses of $3,000 in some parts of the country.

Competition for hourly workers has become fierce, and many companies are offering higher pay, sign-on bonuses and other incentives. Last week, package delivery company UPS promised to handout job offers in 30 minutes after candidates apply for many of the 100,000 holiday workers it plans to hire.

Amazon has been doing more to lure workers, too. Last week it said it will start to pay full college tuition for hourly workers starting next year.

More people have shifted from stores to online shopping over the past year during the pandemic, and retailers have adjusted hiring to accommodate those patterns. Amazon, the nation's second-largest private employer, hired 500,000 people last year alone.

The company said Tuesday that it has opened more than 250 new delivery facilities this year, including warehouses and airport hubs, and plans to open 100 more facilities this month.