Amazon Is Hiring More Than 300,000 Holiday Workers, Up From 250,000 in Each of the Last Three Years

Amazon is hiring over 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time, and full-time roles across its U.S. core operations network nationwide this holiday season, a plan announced on October 20. That is up 20% from a year ago, after Amazon had 250,000 seasonal hires in each of the last three years. Seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour, and new openings are posted weekly from October through December. For Metaintro readers looking for warehouse, sorting or delivery station work before the new year, this guide sets out the pay, the new healthcare rule for seasonal staff, the role types and the exact steps on the Amazon hiring site.

What Did Amazon Announce for This Holiday Season?

The headline is the head count. Amazon is hiring over 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time, and full-time roles, so the total is not only temporary work. The plan covers seasonal, part-time and full-time workers across its U.S. core operations network, and the announcement was written by J. Ofori Agboka, Amazon's Vice President, People Experience and Technology.

Amazon issued the plan as a Business Wire release from Seattle, and part-time roles are also part of the hiring effort. Amazon gives no split by state, by site or by role type in its announcement, and no count of how many of the jobs are seasonal versus permanent.

The new pieces this year are pay and healthcare. Seasonal staff who work at least 30 hours a week will have access to healthcare coverage on their first day, beginning January 1, 2027.

One of the best parts is welcoming so many new teammates into Amazon and, this year, we're hiring over 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time, and full-time roles across our core operations network nationwide, Amazon vice president J. Ofori Agboka wrote, according to the Amazon holiday jobs post.

How Does This Year's Total Compare With Amazon's Past Holiday Drives?

For three seasons the number did not move, at 250,000 seasonal hires a year. Last year, Amazon planned to hire 250,000 workers during its peak season, unchanged from the previous two years. The 2025 drive marked the third consecutive year the company has added a quarter of a million people.

This year's plan of more than 300,000 workers is up 20% from a year ago. Before the announcement, Amazon had 250,000 seasonal hires in each of the last three years and usually announces its hiring plans by mid-October, the Challenger report said.

Pay has also moved. In 2025, temporary workers were earning an average of $19 an hour and pay for permanent roles averaged $23 an hour. The 2025 jobs were posted through December on Amazon's job page. This year, seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour, and average hourly pay across the core operations workforce is nearly $24 an hour.

What Do Amazon's Holiday Jobs Pay?

Here is the pay, role by role.

• Seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour. That is an average, not a floor, so the rate on a given listing can sit above or below it.
• Full-time core operations employees get a minimum starting wage of $20 an hour, and the full-time workers will make at least $20 an hour.
• Average total compensation for full-time employees exceeds $32 an hour when benefits are included.

The full-time floor comes from a September raise. Amazon added an increase of $1 an hour for eligible employees, bringing the core operations full-time minimum starting wage to $20 an hour, part of more than $1.5 billion in higher pay for its US core operations staff. Minimum starting pay has increased more than 17% in the past three years, and an annual step plan raises pay over the first three years someone is with the company.

Seasonal warehouse jobs also come with pay every week, overtime for more than 40 hours, and time-and-a-half for holidays. Some jobs carry sign-on bonuses, but bonus eligibility is limited to select locations only and may be discontinued at any time, amounts are paid over multiple installments, and payment may require employment over 180 days, and other criteria may apply. With the free Anytime Pay feature, workers can access their money directly after a shift.

Which Seasonal Workers Get Healthcare, and From When?

The rule has three parts, and the date matters.

• Who qualifies. Seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week.
• What it costs. Plans start at $5 a week and $5 copays.
• When it starts. Eligible employees hired before January 1 will gain access to coverage on that date, while those hired on or after January 1 will have access from their very first day.

In practice, a seasonal worker hired in November does not get cover in November, because those hired before January 1 gain access on that date. Access comes on January 1, 2027, and only if the role meets the 30 hour test. Amazon also hires seasonal employees year-round, so the same rule applies to seasonal roles taken later in the year.

Healthcare from day one is not new for permanent staff. Regular full-time employees already get healthcare from day one, including the Essential Plan at $5 a week with $5 copays.

What Other Benefits Come With an Amazon Job?

Starting October 1, 2026, every Amazon employee in the U.S. has a grocery discount of an uncapped 10% off eligible grocery and everyday essentials on Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market online, and an uncapped 20% off in-store at Whole Foods Market. The discount can be combined with existing Prime member discounts.

A new lifetime banking benefit gives qualified employees and their families a membership in First Tech Federal Credit Union, with access rolling out in late 2026 and broadly available in 2027. Standard checking and savings accounts carry $0 overdraft fees and no account minimums, and no monthly maintenance fees.

Other benefits for eligible employees include a free Prime membership, prepaid tuition through Career Choice of up to $5,250 a year, a 401(k) with company match, paid parental leave, and 24/7 mental health support through Resources for Living. Career Choice works through more than 475 education partners. Seasonal employees get access to a range of benefits, and benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as part-time, seasonal, or temporary employment.

Which Roles Can You Apply For?

Amazon's hourly roles span warehouse, customer service, retail, delivery driver, Amazon Air and Amazon Locker+ work. Warehouse teams include:

• Fulfillment Center Associate. Gets customer orders ready by prepping packages and loading them into trucks.
• Sortation Center Associate. Receives, sorts and loads packages to prepare them for their next destination.
• Delivery Station Associate. Receives, moves and loads packages to prepare them for delivery drivers.
• Grocery Warehouse Associate. Prepares online grocery orders for quick delivery, much like a personal shopper.
• XL Warehouse Associate and Equipment Operator. Handles unique customer orders with items over 50 pounds, and operators work with powered industrial trucks.
• Quick Ship and Amazon Air Associates. Process packages for same-day delivery, or sort and load packages for air cargo at an airport warehouse.

The seasonal jobs page is the filter for part-year work, and it links to permanent roles for anyone who wants something longer.

How Do You Apply for an Amazon Seasonal Job?

To get alerts, visit amazon.com/localjobs or text NEWJOB to 31432. Driver-only alerts use a separate keyword, DRIVENOW. From there the warehouse process runs in four steps, set out in the hiring process answers.

• Application. The online application can be completed in about an hour and includes picking your shift and scheduling your pre-hire appointment. You must finish your application within 3 hours, or Amazon cannot guarantee you keep the shift you picked.
• Pre-hire appointment. You will need to provide proof of your identity and employment eligibility.
• New hire orientation. You learn about the job and get your badge photo for your first day.
• First day. After orientation comes your first day on the job.

Most hourly jobs do not require a resume, including warehouse, driver, and shopper jobs, though campus pickup point jobs need a resume, and the hiring process for most hourly roles does not include an interview. Delivery driver applicants are the exception and will be required to interview. Warehouse jobs also list a work assessment as a step, and the process can vary slightly by role and location.

Amazon reviews your work history, the questions you answered during the application process, and the results of your background check and drug test when deciding who moves forward. Former employees are welcome to re-apply, subject to a rehire eligibility check.

How Does Amazon's Plan Compare With the Wider Holiday Job Market?

Seasonal US retail hiring is expected to fall 2.5% year over year to about 450,000 new jobs added in Q4, down from 461,500 jobs added in the last quarter of 2025, on predictive data from Challenger, Gray and Christmas. In 2025, seasonal retail hiring posted its smallest seasonal gain since 2008, in Challenger's analysis. Seasonal hiring for logistics and warehouse companies will be about flat from a year ago, the firm estimated.

Big names have stayed quiet. Walmart and Target have again refrained from announcing their seasonal recruiting plans, and Target has kept its seasonal hiring to about 100,000 roles across more than 2,000 stores for the past several years, Challenger reported. Among delivery firms, United Parcel Service plans to hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers, a plan made public earlier this month.

Online spending is forecast to grow. US shoppers are expected to spend $275.1 billion online in November and December, up 6.7% from 2025, in an Adobe forecast, and Amazon captures almost 40 cents of every dollar spent online, in an estimate from EMarketer.

Almost every hiring announcement we've seen in the last three years is smaller and more surgical than the pre-pandemic playbook, Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, said, according to the Bloomberg report.

Can a Seasonal Job at Amazon Turn Into a Permanent One?

There is no promise, but there is a route. Seasonal employees have the opportunity to transition into full-time roles, and each year some seasonal hires go on to become trainers, managers, and leaders across the operations network. Amazon gives no conversion rate.

Medical benefits go to those who remain in January and work at least 30 hours each week. If you want something longer from the start, the seasonal page has a link to see other available jobs near you. Retail and store experience can travel too, and How to Move From Retail Experience to Another Job in Any Industry shows how to frame it.

What This Means for Job Seekers, and What Should You Do Next?

Our take is that this is a large pool of hourly holiday work, but it is spread across the whole country and posted week by week. The total is more than 300,000, yet the open slots in any one town depend on what is posted that week. If you don't see a job posting for a particular location, it means that all of the roles have been filled, and pre-hire appointments fill up quickly.

The healthcare change comes with two conditions. It starts on January 1, 2027 and needs at least 30 hours a week, so it helps people who stay past the holidays on solid hours.

Here is what we would do:

• Set alerts today. Sign up for local job alerts, since new roles go up weekly from October through December.
• Apply in one sitting. Set aside about an hour and have your identity and work eligibility documents ready for the pre-hire appointment.
• Ask about hours. If healthcare matters to you, check that the role offers at least 30 hours a week.
• Read the bonus terms. Sign-on bonuses are limited to select locations and may require employment over 180 days to receive payment.
• Compare with permanent roles. Full-time jobs start at a minimum of $20 an hour, the same as the seasonal average, and come with day-one healthcare already. For other well-paid starting points, see Entry-Level Jobs That Pay Well and How to Land One.

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People Also Asked

Q: How many holiday workers is Amazon hiring this year?

A: Amazon is hiring over 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time, and full-time roles across its US core operations network, up from 250,000 in each of the last three years.

Q: How much do Amazon seasonal jobs pay?

A: Seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour, and seasonal warehouse jobs pay overtime for more than 40 hours and time-and-a-half for holidays.

Q: Do Amazon seasonal workers get health insurance?

A: From January 1, 2027, seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week can get healthcare coverage, with plans starting at $5 a week and $5 copays.

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