By Mary Prenon

In anticipation of a bustling holiday season this year, Amazon is hiring 250,000 full-time, part-time, and seasonal positions in its fulfillment and transportation network across the United States.

This marks the third consecutive year the company has planned to hire 250,000 workers—well above the 150,000 temporary employees it hired in 2022 and 2021.

Full- and part-time employees will earn an average of $23 per hour with benefits, while seasonal workers will be paid more than $19 per hour.

In its Oct. 13 announcement, Amazon noted that available positions will be posted weekly from now through December on its website, hiring.amazon.com.

“For some, it’s a few months of extra income to support their families during the holidays,” Sandy Gordon, Amazon’s vice president of global operations employee experience, stated in the announcement. “For others, it’s the first step in building a new career path.”

Those employees who choose to continue in regular full-time roles will be able to take advantage of health care benefits, as well as educational programs that cover tuition expenses.

Amazon is investing more than $1 billion into additional pay and benefits for its employees, which it said brings the total compensation to more than $30 per hour.

“Having built my own career from the front line in environments where people invested in one another, I know the power of opening doors, and it’s a privilege to see that play out here across our network,” Gordon added.

Amazon’s announcement comes on the heels of a recent report from career coaching firm Challenger, Grey & Christmas, forecasting that seasonal hiring could hit its lowest point since 2009.

Based on 2024 figures, when U.S. retailers added 543,000 jobs in the final quarter, the company projects that this year’s retailers could hire even fewer employees—under 500,000. If these predictions are accurate, it would represent the smallest seasonal gain in 16 years.

“Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger, and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires,” Andy Challenger, senior vice president at the firm, said in a statement. He also noted the market could experience a late hiring push if holiday sales take an upturn.

The firm noted that transportation and warehousing are also expected to underperform, based on 2024 numbers. Last year, 303,700 positions were added in the fourth quarter—the lowest since 2019.

Challenger also said that Bath & Body Works plans to hire 32,000 employees this holiday season, while Spirit Halloween has added up to 50,000 nationwide. Both Kohl’s and Target have also announced seasonal hiring plans, but did not provide specific numbers.

A recent report from Adobe forecasts a record online holiday sales season for 2025, with some $253.4 billion in online orders. Cyber Monday, Dec. 1, is expected to remain the biggest online shopping day, with sales expectations exceeding $14 billion—a 6.3 percent year-over-year increase.

Cyber Week, running from Nov. 27 to Dec. 1, could bring in more than $43.7 billion in sales.