Amazon, UPS each want 2,000 seasonal workers in Western Pa.

Amazon and United Parcel Service Inc. each want to hire about 2,000 workers in advance of the holiday shopping season for its distribution centers in Western Pennsylvania, the companies said this week.

Workers looking for full-time and part-time seasonal jobs with the competing major shipping and delivery companies can earn at least $18 an hour with access to benefits at Amazon, while UPS will pay starting wages of $21 per hour for package handlers and $23 per hour for seasonal delivery drivers.

Amazon has four delivery station, two sorting centers and two fulfillment centers in Western Pennsylvania, including the inbound cross dock warehouse at its new 1.1-million square foot facility in New Stanton, said Sam Fisher, Amazon spokesman. It is looking to add 8,000 jobs throughout the state.

Workers could have opportunities for jobs at UPS distribution centers at its warehouse in New Stanton, as well as facilities on Pittsburgh’s North Side, and ones near Crafton, Rochester and Washington. The seasonal hiring at UPS comes after UPS eliminated about 200 jobs in April from its New Stanton warehouse when it ended its daytime package sorting operations.

UPS said it looks to hire 125,000 seasonal employees nationwide, while Amazon wants to hire 250,000 seasonal workers across the nation, the companies announced.

FedEx Corp., which has facilities in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties, continues to hire for operational positions needed in certain locations, said Allie Addoms, a FedEx spokeswoman. The company declined to offer any estimates for home many seasonal employees it wants to hire.

UPS said it offers options for flexible shifts in various locations during a shopping season that has four fewer shopping days this year. Many of the Amazon seasonal jobs offer workers the potential for regular, full-time employment after the holidays. About one-third of seasonal employees return to those jobs, Amazon said.

Almost 75% of the UPS jobs n o longer require an in-person interview and many may receive a job offer within 10 as little as 10 minutes, said Tom Farrell, a UPS spokesman.

Amazon said it raised wages of its front-line employees by at least an additional $1.50 per hour, starting in October. That brings its average base wage to more than $22 per hour. With benefits included, the average total compensation is worth more than $29 per hour, the company said.

That wage hike made a difference in attracting employees, said Janice Albright, site administrator for PA CareerLink near Youngwood.

The PA CareerLink adjacent to the Westmoreland County Community College worked with Amazon on job fairs this past summer and the shipper recently held a job fair at the PA CareerLink office in Charleroi to fill jobs at the warehouse off Glenn Fox Road.