Amazon.com Inc. has increased its average starting wage in the United States to more than $18 an hour and plans to hire another 125,000 warehouse and transportation workers, an executive said.
The world’s largest online retailer has raised pay from around $17 since May. In some locations, the company is also giving signing bonuses of $3,000, or triple what the company offered four months ago, said Dave Bozeman, vice president of Amazon Delivery Services.
The fatter paycheck shows how big employers are desperate to draw workers in an increasingly tight U.S. labor market. Fewer Americans are seeking jobless claims just as openings have hit a record in the reopening economy.