What you need to know about the new Amazon jobs coming to Philly

If you’re looking for a job, Amazon is hiring nearly 4,800 people in the Philadelphia region. The company is looking for warehouse workers to help handle packages for its growing number of online shoppers.

The jobs pay at least $15 an hour and include benefits for full-timers, but the work can be physically demanding. And the company has come under fire for how it treats employees and the higher rates of serious injuries at its facilities. Amazon’s hiring spree was announced the same day that workers in Canada said they wanted to unionize to get better pay and working conditions.

Still, Philadelphia officials praised Amazon for hiring residents at a time when thousands of workers remain unemployed because of the pandemic. The city’s unemployment rate was 9.4% in July, way down from last summer but still above the pre-pandemic level of 5.8%.

Here’s what you need to know about the warehouse jobs at Amazon:

The 4,800 jobs are primarily in picking, packing, and sorting packages. Depending on your role, you could load or unload trailers, put products inside boxes, or sort them by final destination for delivery.

There are also openings in human resources, health and safety, and other departments, a company spokesperson said.

Amazon’s minimum starting wage is $15 an hour. New hires for delivery and warehouse jobs earn more than $18 an hour on average, according to the company.

Yes, but only if you work full time. The company offers benefits that include health, vision, and dental insurance, as well as a 401(k) with a 50% company match and up to 20 weeks of paid parental leave.

Starting in January, Amazon will pay full college tuition for frontline workers, including those who’ve been at the company for just three months. The company plans to add new skills training programs.

No. Amazon workers have tried to organize for better pay and working conditions, but no warehouses are unionized in the U.S. Employees tried to unionize in Bessemer, Ala. because the company constantly monitored their productivity, among other issues. Workers there ultimately rejected unionization by a wide margin. A union has challenged the results, claiming Amazon illegally interfered in the process.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters recently voted to prioritize getting Amazon workers a union contract, citing safety and other issues. Amazon’s warehouses in Pennsylvania had almost twice as many serious injuries per 100 workers than non-Amazon warehouses last year.

No. You don’t need any previous experience and training is provided on-site, a spokesperson said.

No. All of them are permanent full- and part-time jobs.

You can find the open positions at amazon.com/apply.

Penn Medicine, J.P. Morgan Chase, Comcast, and Allied Universal are among the companies with the most job postings in the region over the last 30 days, according to data analyzed by the University City District.

You can also find job openings on this website run by the Pennsylvania government: pacareerlink.pa.gov