BIZBusiness NO. ---

Amazon holiday hiring tops 300,000, first rise in three years

Amazon's US holiday hiring target rises to more than 300,000 after three years at 250,000, with seasonal pay averaging $20 an hour, even as forecasters expect retail seasonal hiring overall to stay flat or fall.

By Rowan Ashby Published 21.10.26 10:00 UTC 7 min read

Exterior of a large Amazon fulfillment center building in Ocala, Florida — Michael Rivera / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 · Source

Key takeaways

Amazon said on October 20, 2026 that it plans to hire more than 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time and full-time roles across its US operations network this holiday season.
That is at least 20% more than the 250,000 target it set in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025, making it the company's first year-on-year increase in holiday hiring in three years.
Seasonal workers will earn an average of $20 an hour, up from "over $19" in 2025 and a guaranteed minimum of $18 in 2024, according to company statements and contemporaneous reports.
From January 1, 2027, seasonal employees working at least 30 hours a week become eligible for healthcare from their first day.
Amazon's move contrasts with industry forecasts: the National Retail Federation expects overall seasonal hiring to be roughly flat, and Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects retail's fourth-quarter job gains to fall below last year's 17-year low.

What Amazon announced

Amazon holiday hiring is rising for the first time in three years. It said on October 20, 2026 it plans to hire more than 300,000 people across its US operations network, at least 20% above the 250,000 target set in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

On pay, Amazon said seasonal employees will earn an average of $20 an hour. Full-time core operations staff have a minimum starting wage of $20 an hour, average hourly pay across core operations is "nearly $24", and average total compensation for full-time employees, including benefits, exceeds $32 an hour. The company also pointed to more than $1.5 billion in higher pay for its US operations workforce that it had announced earlier.

The most notable change concerns benefits. Starting January 1, 2027, seasonal employees who work at least 30 hours a week will be eligible for healthcare coverage from their first day, with plans starting at $5 a week and $5 copays. Holiday hires who are still in qualifying roles on that date gain access then. Amazon also listed grocery discounts at Amazon.com and Whole Foods Market, a low-cost banking product with First Tech Federal Credit Union that is rolling out from late 2026, and existing benefits such as its Career Choice tuition programme of up to $5,250 a year.

J. Ofori Agboka, Amazon's vice president of People Experience and Technology for global operations, wrote in the announcement: "The holidays are my favorite time of year at Amazon."

Reuters, as published by US News & World Report, described the plan as the first increase in Amazon's holiday recruitment in three years. Bloomberg characterised it as the company's biggest holiday hiring push, standing out in an otherwise weak seasonal jobs market.

How 2026 compares with 2023-2025

Amazon's holiday target jumped from 150,000 in 2022 to 250,000 in 2023, which reports at the time put at a 67% increase. It then held at 250,000 for three consecutive seasons before this year's rise. Pay disclosures have not been reported on a consistent basis from year to year, so the table below shows each year's figures as the company or contemporaneous coverage described them.

Holiday season	Announced	Hiring target (US)	Seasonal pay as stated	Other pay or benefit figures
2023	Sept. 19, 2023	250,000	$17-$28/hour depending on location	Average pay for fulfilment and transportation staff above $20.50/hour; $1.3bn pay investment; sign-on bonuses of $1,000-$3,000 in some roles
2024	Oct. 2024	250,000	At least $18/hour	Seasonal staff who stay could see an average 15% pay rise over their first three years
2025	Oct. 14, 2025	Up to 250,000	Over $19/hour average	Regular staff average $23/hour; more than $1bn in added pay and benefits
2026	Oct. 20, 2026	Over 300,000	$20/hour average	Core operations average nearly $24/hour; first-day healthcare for 30+ hour seasonal staff from Jan. 1, 2027

Sources: Amazon (2026 press release); Fortune and Bloomberg (2023); Seattle Business Magazine (2024); Retail Dive and CNN-syndicated reports (2025). Figures are as stated by the company and are not adjusted for inflation.

A rare expansion in a cautious season

Amazon's plan runs against the broader retail picture. The National Retail Federation said on October 15 that it expects November-December retail sales to grow 4.2% to about $1.013 trillion, after 3.1% growth to $972 billion in 2025. Yet the trade group forecast only 325,000 to 375,000 seasonal hires across the industry, roughly in line with its estimate of 356,000 last year. NRF chief economist Mark Mathews has described the labour market as a "low hire, low fire" environment.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the outplacement firm, said in September that retailers added 461,500 jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025, the smallest seasonal gain since 2008 and 15% below 2024. It forecast about 450,000 for the same period of 2026. Its transportation and warehousing estimate for the 2025 holiday quarter was 266,500 jobs, the lowest since 2018, and it expected a similar total this year. Challenger's numbers measure the net change in non-seasonally adjusted government payroll data, not individual hires, so they are not directly comparable with NRF's estimate or with Amazon's target.

Few large employers had published headcount plans before Amazon. Challenger noted that Spirit Halloween planned 52,000 seasonal associates and Michaels more than 10,000, while Target, Kohl's and the big parcel carriers had not yet disclosed 2026 figures.

The "low hire, low fire" description fits the latest weekly data: US jobless claims fell to 194,000, the fewest in three months, while job searches are taking longer. Consumer companies are also watching demand closely; Procter & Gamble reported 4% sales growth in its latest quarter as commodity and freight costs squeezed margins. Platform rules for consumers are shifting too, with Airbnb banning checkout chores and host fines under a new house rules policy.

What it means

For holiday demand

A company does not usually add tens of thousands of extra workers unless it expects more orders to handle. The higher target is consistent with Amazon expecting stronger volumes than last year, and with NRF's forecast that shoppers will keep spending. It also reflects a continuing shift of holiday spending from stores to online channels. Challenger cited Indeed data showing warehouse jobs rising from 3.5% of seasonal postings in 2019 to nearly 9% this year, while store-facing roles fell from about 67% to just over 61%. Amazon did not give a demand forecast, however, and a hiring target is a ceiling for recruitment, not a guarantee of how many people will actually be employed at peak.

For warehouse automation

The increase comes despite Amazon's heavy investment in robotics. The company said in mid-2025 that it had deployed its one millionth warehouse robot, along with an AI model, DeepFleet, that it said would make its robot fleet travel 10% faster, according to TechCrunch. Andy Challenger said in September that "AI, robotics, and automation continue to reshape the peak-season labor profile in warehousing." Amazon's announcement suggests that, at least for this peak, automation is supplementing rather than replacing seasonal labour. How much of the growth reflects new facilities, higher volumes or changes in the share of full-time versus temporary roles is not yet known, because Amazon has not published a breakdown.

For the US labour market

With overall hiring subdued, a large employer offering $20 an hour on average plus earlier healthcare access may draw applicants from other retailers and logistics firms competing for the same pool. Extending first-day healthcare to seasonal staff who work at least 30 hours is a meaningful change in an industry where temporary workers often wait months for coverage. The benefit only takes effect in January, though, so most of this year's peak season will be worked under the existing rules. Whether rivals respond with higher pay or richer benefits will become clearer as other companies publish their holiday plans in the coming weeks.

Frequently asked questions

How many holiday workers is Amazon hiring in 2026?

Amazon said on October 20, 2026 that it plans to hire more than 300,000 people for seasonal, part-time and full-time roles across its US operations network, with openings posted weekly from October through December.

How does this compare with previous years?

Amazon set a target of 250,000 holiday hires in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025, after 150,000 in 2022. The 2026 target is at least 20% higher and is the first year-on-year increase in three years.

How much do Amazon seasonal workers earn?

Amazon says seasonal employees earn an average of $20 an hour in 2026. It reported an average of over $19 an hour in 2025 and a minimum of $18 an hour for seasonal staff in 2024.

Do Amazon seasonal workers get healthcare?

From January 1, 2027, seasonal employees working at least 30 hours a week become eligible for healthcare from their first day, with plans starting at $5 a week. Holiday hires still in qualifying roles on that date gain access then.

Is the rest of retail hiring more this year?

Not broadly. The National Retail Federation expects 325,000 to 375,000 seasonal hires industry-wide, roughly flat, and Challenger, Gray & Christmas expects fourth-quarter retail job gains to fall slightly below 2025's level, the lowest since 2008.