Amazon workers are getting free Prime memberships

Amazon is raising pay for its more than 800,000 US warehouse and transportation workers and giving them free Prime accounts for the first time.

Amazon is raising pay for its more than 800,000 US warehouse and transportation workers and giving them Amazon Prime for free. Amazon, one of the country’s largest private employers, announced Wednesday that it will raise wages by at least $1.50 an hour, bringing the company’s average starting wage to more than $22 an hour. Amazon will also offer the $139 yearly Prime benefit to employees for free. Amazon’s decision to raise wages is another sign of a tight jobs market for logistics workers, fueled by more Americans shopping online. The labor market has cooled considerably during the past year, but the economy is still adding jobs. The average hourly wage for transportation and warehouse workers rose to $30.79 in August, up 22% from August of 2020, according to the Labor Department. In July, more than 460,000 jobs were unfilled in the transportation and warehouse sector, the Labor Department said. Rivals such as UPS, Walmart and Target have also bumped up wages for warehouse workers. UPS struck a five-year deal with the Teamsters union last year that included a jump in starting pay to $23 an hour during the contract. Amazon’s wage hike comes ahead of the holiday season, typically the busiest online shopping stretch of the year. Sales are expected to climb by up to 3.3% this holiday stretch, Deloitte predicted in a report last week. Online sales will grow by up to 9%.