Amazon's minimum wage hike attracted a record number of job applications

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: There's been a lot of discussion in public forums regarding the federal minimum wage for workers in the US. Amazon's decision to bump its minimum wage to $15 and the impact it'll have on the company's operating costs will be studied closely by onlookers in the coming months and could impact rates at other major companies.

Amazon’s fourth quarter earnings report was packed full of ancillary details regarding the company’s operations in 2018. One of the biggest takeaways involves the recent decision to raise its minimum wage.

Amazon, if you recall, announced in October that it would be increasing its hourly minimum wage to $15 for all full-time, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees starting November 1. After announcing the rate increase, Amazon received a record 850,000 job applications for hourly positions in the US in October.

Amazon said that is more than double the previous record for the most job applications received in a single month.

According to the company, the new minimum wage impacts more than 250,000 employees in the US and 17,000 workers in the UK. The more than 200,000 seasonal employees Amazon hired over the holidays also benefited from the wage hike.

The e-commerce giant finished the fourth quarter with 647,500 full-time and part-time employees, or 14 percent more than it had at the same point a year earlier.

Chart courtesy Quartz

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https://www.techspot.com/news/78541-amazon-minimum-wage-hike-attracted-record-number-job.html

 

[psycros]

That explains why their prices aren't competitive with Ebay anymore.

 

[Uncle Al]

They'll be soooorrrrrryyyyy .......

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

A record number of people applied for a job at Amazon following minimum wage increase

I'd like to know who they were. Because the general theory about a wage hike that's done by a single large employer like Amazon (or Walmart) is that it'll attract a different sort of applicant.
Instead of a high-school drop out who's been bouncing around fast food restaurants it'll be someone with a college degree who wants a 2nd job. or a firefighter with 3 days off a week and wants a 2nd job. And someone looking for a 2nd (part-time) job probably doesn't need benefits.

Point being - this is a great move for Amazon because they get both a) great press because they raised their minimum wage and b) harder working and better educated employees. And those people are very hard to find right now. Here in Wisconsin we have an Amazon distribution center that's always hiring, and our unemployment rate is like 2.9%. Meaning - if you want good employees you have to pay for them.

Who does it hurt? The hard-to-employ, low-education people who can only make minimum wage. They are now competing against better qualified people for minimum wage jobs.

This is awesome news if you already work at Amazon, but if you want to be hired by them you probably should show up with a really nice resume.

 

[Kinemon]

A record number of people applied for a job at Amazon following minimum wage increase

I'd like to know who they were. Because the general theory about a wage hike that's done by a single large employer like Amazon (or Walmart) is that it'll attract a different sort of applicant.
Instead of a high-school drop out who's been bouncing around fast food restaurants it'll be someone with a college degree who wants a 2nd job. or a firefighter with 3 days off a week and wants a 2nd job. And someone looking for a 2nd (part-time) job probably doesn't need benefits.

Point being - this is a great move for Amazon because they get both a) great press because they raised their minimum wage and b) harder working and better educated employees. And those people are very hard to find right now. Here in Wisconsin we have an Amazon distribution center that's always hiring, and our unemployment rate is like 2.9%. Meaning - if you want good employees you have to pay for them.

Who does it hurt? The hard-to-employ, low-education people who can only make minimum wage. They are now competing against better qualified people for minimum wage jobs.

This is awesome news if you already work at Amazon, but if you want to be hired by them you probably should show up with a really nice resume.

While I'm sure you are correct that more educated people are applying now, you are completely wrong that you will need a good resume to get these jobs. I applied for one myself as a side job (Didn't end up taking it). They don't even take a resume, they don't even interview you. You pass a drug and background test, and they give you the job. that's it. Everyone gets the job if they can pass a drug and background. This is for the warehouse positions which is what I assume we are talking about here.

 

[OortCloud]

Now all they need to do is pay tax and who knows they may no longer be scum...

 

[wildcat4mation]

A record number of people applied for a job at Amazon following minimum wage increase

I'd like to know who they were. Because the general theory about a wage hike that's done by a single large employer like Amazon (or Walmart) is that it'll attract a different sort of applicant.
Instead of a high-school drop out who's been bouncing around fast food restaurants it'll be someone with a college degree who wants a 2nd job. or a firefighter with 3 days off a week and wants a 2nd job. And someone looking for a 2nd (part-time) job probably doesn't need benefits.

Point being - this is a great move for Amazon because they get both a) great press because they raised their minimum wage and b) harder working and better educated employees. And those people are very hard to find right now. Here in Wisconsin we have an Amazon distribution center that's always hiring, and our unemployment rate is like 2.9%. Meaning - if you want good employees you have to pay for them.

Who does it hurt? The hard-to-employ, low-education people who can only make minimum wage. They are now competing against better qualified people for minimum wage jobs.

This is awesome news if you already work at Amazon, but if you want to be hired by them you probably should show up with a really nice resume.

Not true. They could still keep certain jobs for those lower educated people. In fact, you are seeing here, from a college graduate, that I will NEVER consider a job with Amazon. If they treat their bottom line, like I have seen and heard, then they still have ways to go before ethics become the norm. Usually, with college graduates and beyond, most hate high turnover jobs and ones where they are nickle and dimed on time.

With regards to your excerpt on second jobs, there is a reason why the wage is being raised (to prevent working two jobs in the U.S.). Because of this, I would think Amazon would be looking to have a job, where one can solely focus and work 10-12 hours, within a single day.

 

[wildcat4mation]

Now all they need to do is pay tax and who knows they may no longer be scum...

And back off on nickel and diming time and their "high productivity or else" turnover rate.

 

[wildcat4mation]

That explains why their prices aren't competitive with Ebay anymore.

I honestly had mistaken Ebay as a craig's list, where they take your money and they "forget" to give you the product you bid for. I have never used it!

 

[Evernessince]

A record number of people applied for a job at Amazon following minimum wage increase

I'd like to know who they were. Because the general theory about a wage hike that's done by a single large employer like Amazon (or Walmart) is that it'll attract a different sort of applicant.
Instead of a high-school drop out who's been bouncing around fast food restaurants it'll be someone with a college degree who wants a 2nd job. or a firefighter with 3 days off a week and wants a 2nd job. And someone looking for a 2nd (part-time) job probably doesn't need benefits.

Point being - this is a great move for Amazon because they get both a) great press because they raised their minimum wage and b) harder working and better educated employees. And those people are very hard to find right now. Here in Wisconsin we have an Amazon distribution center that's always hiring, and our unemployment rate is like 2.9%. Meaning - if you want good employees you have to pay for them.

Who does it hurt? The hard-to-employ, low-education people who can only make minimum wage. They are now competing against better qualified people for minimum wage jobs.

This is awesome news if you already work at Amazon, but if you want to be hired by them you probably should show up with a really nice resume.

While I'm sure you are correct that more educated people are applying now, you are completely wrong that you will need a good resume to get these jobs. I applied for one myself as a side job (Didn't end up taking it). They don't even take a resume, they don't even interview you. You pass a drug and background test, and they give you the job. that's it. Everyone gets the job if they can pass a drug and background. This is for the warehouse positions which is what I assume we are talking about here.

Makes sense. Those jobs are entry level and don't require prior experience. Drug and background is all you really need. It's probably cost them more to hire people to look over resumes and interview for their entry level positions then any potential benefit.

 

[mailpup]

You pass a drug and background test, and they give you the job. that's it. Everyone gets the job if they can pass a drug and background. This is for the warehouse positions which is what I assume we are talking about here.

I don't know for certain but there is probably a probation period. If so, it's during this period that subpar workers are weeded out.

 

[petert]

If you ever worked in a warehouse, you will know that this is not exactly the 2nd job you want. It drains you physically, and Amazon appears to be one of the most demanding. You can't slack - there are tough performance targets in place. You are clocked at the beggining and end of the shift as well as when you go into and come from your lunch break. Also monitored at your job - me, I was a picker and scanned items with a windows pocket pc connected to a network - they look at how fast you do it and also if you made mistakes - and you have to run all over the place all day.They give you a few weeks to reach the cruising speed - if not, you go home.
And they take anybody, - this is not a job, it is slavery in modern times. Here in UK only immigrants accept this kind of job and resist on it - it is not for lazy bastards. Some natives on benefits shows up for a day or two to meet the paperwork requirements and pretend that they are trying to get a job - then they drop.

 

[petert]

You pass a drug and background test, and they give you the job. that's it. Everyone gets the job if they can pass a drug and background. This is for the warehouse positions which is what I assume we are talking about here.

I don't know for certain but there is probably a probation period. If so, it's during this period that subpar workers are weeded out.

Here in UK you take a basic test to show you are literate and can do some math. No drug and background check but there are random tests for alcohol and drugs during the work. If you are found drunk they will send you home - and call the police on you if you go driving. Besides this, the only way you would not get the job is if you have worked for them in the past and dropped after less then one month. One month is the probation period in which you need to achieve the speed and accuracy for the job. So they will know you are a quitter and won't bother with you.

 

[petert]

I would guess Amazon has work all around the year, but being a warehouse in the retail it probably has seasonal demands, like the period around winter holidays - so after the winter holidays, they will probably fire a large portion of their workforce only to hire new people in a couple of months. This probably means that people are not beating at their door, or if they do, they leave exactly when they are the busiest ... so raising the wages makes perfect sense.

 

[wildcat4mation]

I would guess Amazon has work all around the year, but being a warehouse in the retail it probably has seasonal demands, like the period around winter holidays - so after the winter holidays, they will probably fire a large portion of their workforce only to hire new people in a couple of months. This probably means that people are not beating at their door, or if they do, they leave exactly when they are the busiest ... so raising the wages makes perfect sense.

I do not think Amazon "fires" people UNLESS they are able to be at will status or if the worker does something that warrants it. The correct terminology would be laid off and there is a HUGE difference. Someone from Amazon could be laid off from seasonal work and probably reapply and be hired on full time!

 

[petert]

I do not think Amazon "fires" people UNLESS they are able to be at will status or if the worker does something that warrants it. The correct terminology would be laid off and there is a HUGE difference. Someone from Amazon could be laid off from seasonal work and probably reapply and be hired on full time!

I was talking from my own experience - I took a night shift at a major logistic company player which had rebranded its warehouse for a known large clothing retailer but was doing other stuff like books or stationery too. The retail market for clothing and stationery is apparently strong during the autumn and winter close to Christmas break - not so much during the year. So what they do is hire loads of people in the late summer - weed out the slowest ones by September. After New Year they fire (or lay off) the major bulk of their force. Then they hire again the next summer - usually not the same people and this works because they don't rely on the local community but on immigrants (Polish mostly) for workforce. It goes so well for them that they haven't hire permanent staff in seven years. Again, tricks meant to save them a few bucks - so I am assuming Amazon is applying them too.

 

[wildcat4mation]

I was talking from my own experience - I took a night shift at a major logistic company player which had rebranded its warehouse for a known large clothing retailer but was doing other stuff like books or stationery too. The retail market for clothing and stationery is apparently strong during the autumn and winter close to Christmas break - not so much during the year. So what they do is hire loads of people in the late summer - weed out the slowest ones by September. After New Year they fire (or lay off) the major bulk of their force. Then they hire again the next summer - usually not the same people and this works because they don't rely on the local community but on immigrants (Polish mostly) for workforce. It goes so well for them that they haven't hire permanent staff in seven years. Again, tricks meant to save them a few bucks - so I am assuming Amazon is applying them too.

Well, then again, I think from your post; you're probably not in the U.S. right? Probably different laws in the UK. Of course, here it depends on the state. Some are AT WILL and others, it is harder to fire people without knowing the reason behind it. Usually people are fired IF they are incompetent and I mean just flat out do not understand the job or do not want to be there. For Amazon, yes, they do weed out people; however, I wonder if they actually would fire. If they fired for no reason, they would have to pay unemployment and if they laid off, it is automatic unemployment and definitely cheaper than the wage they probably were paying. Amazon is also a cattle call company (one that hires a lot of people and weeds them out..what you were writing about.) But man, if they actually FIRE people, that is messed up.