Amazon plans 300,000 U.S. holiday hires, expands benefits

Amazon said in a blog post on October 20, 2026, that it plans to hire more than 300,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal workers across the U.S. for the 2026 holiday season, a 20% rise from the 250,000 target used in each of the prior three years. Seasonal workers are expected to earn about $20 an hour on average; regular operations workers average nearly $24. Hourly workers scheduled at least 30 hours a week will be offered health coverage starting January 1, 2027, with plans beginning at $5 a week. Broader holiday hiring is expected to weaken. Challenger, Gray and Christmas projects seasonal retail recruitment will fall below last year's 450,000 jobs, the lowest since 2008. "Almost every hiring announcement we've seen in the last three years is smaller and more surgical than the pre-pandemic playbook," said Andy Challenger. Walmart and Target have not announced seasonal plans this year; logistics and warehouse seasonal hiring is expected about flat year over year, the firm said. UPS earlier in October announced its own seasonal hiring plan. Adobe Inc. projects U.S. shoppers will spend $275.1 billion online in November and December, up 6.7% from 2025.