Logistics hiring surged in September at the fastest pace in a year, as warehousing and transportation companies ramping up for peak season added 23,800 jobs.
Warehousing and storage payrolls grew by 8,400 positions last month, according to preliminary figures the Labor Department released Friday, highlighting the soaring demand for workers in distribution centers to handle rapidly growing online commerce orders.
Warehouse operators are raising wages, boosting bonuses and recruiting early in the tightest labor market in decades. Amazon.com Inc. is raising its minimum U.S. wage to $15 an hour next month, adding to pressure on a sector where payrolls have nearly doubled over the past five years.
Randy Tucker, chief executive for the Americas at supply-chain contractor Geodis, said the company has raised pay by about 20 percent over the past three years and will respond if the Amazon increase ends up raising the market rate for warehouse labor in regions where Geodis operates.
“You’re flanked on both sides,” Tucker said, between “the labor market that’s shrinking and an industry that’s needing more labor.”
