Amazon says it needs 3,000 extra workers in the Inland Empire to get through the holidays.
The part-time, seasonal jobs are most needed in San Bernardino and Moreno Valley, according to representatives of the online retail giant.
The hiring push is one of Amazon’s largest since building up its network of warehouses in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with several days of on-the-spot hiring events planned this week. Amazon also is accepting walk-in candidates at its Moreno Valley recruiting office.
“This used to go on in retail stores,” economist John Husing said in a phone interview. “Now it’s happening in warehouses.”
The Inland Empire is Amazon’s shipping hub for Southern California and, according to Husing, has more than 17,000 employees here.
The company has seven Inland fulfillment centers, places where products are received, stored, picked and shipped. That number will grow to eight when a second, 1-million-square-foot center opens in Eastvale.
The others are in San Bernardino, Redlands. Moreno Valley and Rialto. Workers are assisted by robots in two of the centers, according to Ashley Robinson, a senior public relations manager for Amazon.
There are also “sortation” centers, where packages are sorted before being sent to shippers, and smaller delivery centers for “last-mile” shipments.
“It continues to be a fast-growing region,” Robinson said in a phone interview.
Amazon’s first Inland fulfillment center opened in San Bernardino in October 2012. It has 2,500 full-time associates, according to Robinson, and is now in its sixth holiday season with “some of the same associates since day one.”
Amazon’s peak season begins in late September, and its fulfillment centers are full, Robinson said.
“It’s really searching for every nook and cranny to get the inventory.”
Hiring late in the year could prove complicated for Amazon and others. Economists say the U.S. and California are nearing full employment, meaning that almost everybody who is able to hold a job can get one.
“The unemployment rate has worked its way down pretty much as low as it can get,” Husing said. “It generally means employers have to pay a little more, and that’s a good thing.
Amazon’s hourly pay rate begins at $11.75, and workers need to be available for 30 hours or more a week.
Amazon hiring events
When: 8 a.m.-7 p.m. today, Nov. 14; 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15
Where: Moreno Valley Conference Center, 14075 Frederick St., Moreno Valley
Amazon Recruiting Office: 24208 San Michele Road, Moreno Valley
Information: www.amazondelivers.jobs
