Spike in Industry Jobs Related to E-Commerce
Peak season for holiday shopping, late-November to mid-February, leads to a spike in logistics payroll and a hiring drive in sectors tied to e-commerce companies like Amazon and Best Buy. These warehouse and storage companies added over ten thousand jobs and package-delivery drivers in the last month, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor. 
The upsurge in labor related to e-commerce seems to be a trend that is here to stay, due to consumer interest in the convenience of online shopping.
This spike in numbers comes on the heels of the Bureau of Labor Statistic’s revision of figures tied to online business. This revision allowed for more accurate reflections of changes in jobs for these sectors, which raised the December estimate by almost 45 thousand workers. These jobs include locating, packaging, and shipping online goods. 
There was a brief loss of about 3,000 workers from November to December, but picked back up shortly. Overall, the e-commerce sector gained almost 40 thousand jobs in the last year, and hit a new high of 1,016,500 jobs. These revisions also show how much momentum this field is gaining, and how much revenue these companies are creating. Amazon reported $1.9 billion in annual profit, a result of increasing efficiency rates and record online holiday sales.
Steady factory production also helped with this spike in the demand for freight transportation, even in a time when operators say they are having a tough time recruiting and retaining drivers. 
Although trucking companies added a little over 2,000 jobs from December 2017 to January 2018, they are having a hard time with recruitment. Less and less people are willing to spend long hours on the road away from home, and more stringent hiring requirements are not helping with numbers. Regardless of low numbers, the trucking industry is sure to see an upswing this year with the rapidly developing e-commerce sector and its demand for transportation.
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Written By: Shayla Powers