Amazon hiring 500 seasonal workers in the Lehigh Valley

Amazon, one of the Lehigh Valley’s largest employers, is about to grow its payroll even more to meet an expected surge in online shopping over the holidays.

The company on Tuesday said it is hiring more than 500 seasonal workers in the Lehigh Valley, someofthe6,200seasonal positions available across Pennsylvania. Across the nation and Canada, Amazon is looking to hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers to help pick, pack and ship customer orders during the holiday season.

Amazon said the full- and part-time seasonal jobs start at $15 an hour and offer “a path to long-term career opportunities.” Those interested can learn more at amazon.com/apply.

On the website, jobs are listed for Amazon’s fulfillment centers in Breinigsville and Palmer Township. The company already employs more than 3,000 full-time employees in the Lehigh Valley and has been hiring throughout the coronavirus pandemic to keep up with demand.

Amazon’s hiring announcement comes the same day as new state data showed the unemployment rate in the Lehigh Valley fell to 7.7% in September. The region’s growing transportation and warehousing sector has been among the most steady source of available positions during the pandemic.

Amazon is not the only company hiring for the season.

Last week, third-party logis

tics provider XPO Logistics said it was looking to hire more than 1,000 people across its facilities in Milford Township and in Palmer Township.

That followed an earlier announcement from Radial, which handles e-commerce fulfillment for clients, that

it plans to hire more than 1,000 seasonal workers at its 475,800-square-foot warehouse in Forks Township.

MORNING CALLFILE PHOTO Amazon.com operates two fulfillment centers in the Lehigh Valley: in the 800-acre Chrin Commerce Centre in Palmer Township off the new Route 33 interchange and 1 million-square-foot warehouse complex in Breinigsville, Upper Macungie Township.