Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Thursday 3 augusT 2017

Hundreds show up for jobs at Amazon warehouses in US cities

By MATT O’BRIEN build skills. zon’s Seattle headquarters. come. hire more than 200 people
AP Technology Writer “Interpersonal team work, The $11.50 rate amounts Rodney Huffman, a Wednesday, adding to a
FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) problem solving, critical to about $23,920 a year. 27-year-old personal train- workforce of about 1,500.
— Hundreds of people thinking, all that stuff goes In Washington state, the er, said the $13-an-hour Employees there focus on
showed up Wednesday on in these warehouses,” current minimum wage is job in Baltimore would pay sorting, labeling and ship-
for a chance to pack and ping what the company
ship products to Amazon calls “non-sortable” items
customers, as the e-com- — big products such as
merce company held a shovels, kayaks, surfboards,
giant job fair at nearly a grills, car seats — and lots of
dozen U.S. warehouses. giant diaper boxes. Other
Although the wages of- warehouses are focused
fered will make it hard for on smaller products.
some to make ends meet, While Amazon has attract-
many of the candidates ed attention for deploying
were excited by the pros- robots at some of its ware-
pect of health insurance houses, experts said it could
and other benefits, as well take a while before auto-
as advancement opportu- mation begins to seriously
nities. bite into its growing labor
It’s common for Amazon to force. “When it comes to
ramp up its shipping center dexterity, machines aren’t
staff in August to prepare Amazon workers run past a line of applicants waiting to enter a job fair after greeting them with really great at it,” said Ja-
for holiday shopping. But high-fives, Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2017, at an Amazon fulfillment center, in Kent, Wash. Amazon son Roberts, head of tech-
plans to make thousands of job offers on the spot at nearly a dozen U.S. warehouses during the
the magnitude of its cur- recruiting event. nology and analytics for
rent hiring spree under- (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) mass recruiter Randstad
scores Amazon’s growth Sourceright, which is not
when traditional retailers Carnevale said. “They’re $11.50 but by 2020 will in- enough to help cover bills working with Amazon on its
are closing stores — and serious entry-level jobs for a crease to $13.50. By com- while he starts his own com- jobs fair. “The picker-pack-
blaming Amazon for a shift lot of young people, even parison, the warehouse pany. er role is something humans
to buying goods online. those who are still making store operator Costco “I’m looking to do the night do way better than ma-
Amazon planned to hire their way through school.” raised its minimum wage shifts and then run my own chines right now.”
thousands of people on The company is advertising for entry-level workers last company during the day,” Steve King, 47, a job candi-
the spot. Nearly 40,000 of starting wages that range year from $13 to $13.50 an he said. At one warehouse date in Fall River with expe-
the 50,000 packing, sorting from $11.50 an hour in hour. — Amazon calls them rience running his own busi-
and shipping jobs at Ama- Chattanooga, Tennessee, Some job candidates “fulfillment centers” — in ness, agreed: “I don’t think
zon will be full time. Most to $13.75 an hour in Kent, Wednesday were looking Fall River, Massachusetts, robots are up to snuff yet. I
of them will count toward Washington, near Ama- to supplement other in- Amazon was looking to think they will be. q
Amazon’s previously an-
nounced goal of adding
100,000 full-time workers by Survey:
the middle of next year.
people are likely to lose US companies added a solid 178,000 jobs in July
The bad news is that more
jobs in stores than get jobs
in warehouses, said An- By CHRIS S. RUGABER Payroll processor ADP said drilling, gained 3,000 jobs. surance that the economy
thony Carnevale, director AP Economics Writer Wednesday that the big- July’s gain is below June’s remains healthy. Consumer
of Georgetown University’s WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. gest gains were in fields figure of 191,000, which spending slowed in June
Center on Education and businesses added a solid such as education and was revised higher. But it and Americans cut back
the Workforce. 178,000 jobs in July, a sur- health care and shipping. is still enough to lower the sharply last month on auto
On the flip side, Amazon’s vey found, evidence that Manufacturers cut 4,000 unemployment rate over purchases. But the overall
warehouse jobs provide employers remain confi- jobs, while construction time. The rate is near a 16- economy grew at a decent
“decent and competitive” dent enough about future firms added 6,000. Mining, year low of 4.4 percent. The 2.6 percent annual pace in
wages and could help demand to keep hiring. which includes oil and gas figures provide some reas- the April-June quarter.q