For third straight year, Amazon will hire 250,000 holiday workers
Amazon’s seasonal holiday hiring plans are remaining on track with the past two years.
The online giant is looking to hire 250,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal roles across its fulfillment and transportation network in the U.S. for the 2025 holiday season.
This total matches the record-setting figure Amazon hired for the holidays in both 2024 and 2023 and is and 67% more than the 150,000 temporary employees it hired in preparation for the holidays in 2022 and 2021.
Seasonal employees can earn an average wage of over $19 per hour, according to Amazon, with pay increases for returning temporary workers. Amazon says a seasonal employee who has worked there for three years has seen their pay go up an average of 18%.
Seasonal roles will be posted weekly on the hiring page of the Amazon site from October through December. Amazon is also focusing on hiring holiday workers in rural parts of the country, where the company is spending more than $4 billion to expand its same-day and next-day delivery network in more than 1,000 smaller cities, towns, and rural communities.
[READ MORE: Amazon investing more than $4B in rural delivery]
Seasonal retail hiring looks murky
Amazon is maintaining the robust pace of holiday hiring it set during the past couple of years as broader retail industry trends are less clear. According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas “2025 Seasonal Hiring Report,” following a summer of subdued hiring, seasonal retail hiring in 2025 is expected to fall to its lowest point since the recession-hit season of 2009.
The firm projects retailers may add under 500,000 positions in the last three months of 2025, marking the smallest seasonal gain in 16 years.
"Seasonal employers are facing a confluence of factors this year: tariffs loom, inflationary pressures linger, and many companies continue to rely on automation and permanent staff instead of large waves of seasonal hires," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and senior VP of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Kohl’s announced that it was hiring seasonal workers, but did not give a number. In announcing its holiday plans, Target did not say how many seasonal associates it plans to hire this year, but gave a link to a site where candidates could apply.
Target also noted it is entering the season with a "strong, experienced team," and that it’s also using the "On-Demand" team in its stores. Catalyst Brands, the parent company of JCPenney, Aeropostale, and other retail brands, aims to add more than 13,000 seasonal team positions across its retail banners.
Other major retailers that have announced holiday hiring initiatives include Michaels, which plans to hire more than 10,000 seasonal positions and will also offer current team members opportunities to work extra hours throughout the holiday season.
In addition, Bath & Body Works plans to hire more than 30,000 seasonal associates across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico to support its nearly 1,900 North American stores, along with more than 2,000 full-time roles at its five Ohio-based distribution centers.
This figure is down slightly from last year, when the company shared plans to hire approximately 33,000 new seasonal associates for its busiest sales season.
