The gains extended strong growth in sectors tied to e-commerce, as companies get workers and goods in place for another expected surge in online holiday sales.
Warehousing and storage companies, a group that includes the burgeoning business of managing distribution centers filled with online retail inventory, added 4,800 jobs from August to September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, pushing total employment in the sector to a new high of 961,000.
Courier and messenger firms, including the parcel carriers that deliver online orders, added 3,600 jobs last month, giving the sector 32,000 more jobs than the same month last year.
This holiday season Deloitte expects online sales to rise 18 to 21 percent compared with 2016, and the National Retail Federation forecasts that nonstore sales will rise 11 to 15 percent. Both figures are far stronger than the single-digit gains forecast for overall retail sales.
Low unemployment and a tight labor market have accelerated seasonal recruitment efforts, with some logistics companies and staffing firms posting job ads as early as July. Average pay for entry-level warehouse workers is expected to hit $13.68 an hour during this holiday season, up 10 percent compared with nonpeak wages and a nearly 5-percent increase from 2016, according to logistics staffing firm ProLogistix.
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