Amazon is reshaping the San Joaquin County job market as it builds latest facility
In the past eight years, Amazon has purchased 10 million square feet of property in San Joaquin County — that's an area nearly 12 times the size of Weberstown Mall.
And the e-commerce giant continues to expand: its new Stockton shipping center will be Amazon's fourth facility in the city, and its 11th in the county, according to the San Joaquin Partnership.
'There’s something for everyone':Stockton Amazon center is hiring thousands of jobs
E-commerce companies' demand for workers is transforming the local labor market: San Joaquin County was one of the first places in the country to see transportation and warehousing employment surpass employment in retail, according to a 2019 report by the Center for Business and Policy Research at the University of the Pacific.
The county has the second-highest concentration of transportation and warehouse jobs out of all metropolitan areas in the U.S., the report found.
E-commerce companies are looking to cash in on the county's central location and expanding workforce, Carrie Wright, Stockton's economic development director, said.
Stockton has extensive freeway and rail connections in addition to its port, and unlike many parts of California, the population of the city and county are growing, she said.
“We were approached with a very aggressive timeline in order to have that facility built," Wright said. "And we worked to do that so that we could make sure that it could open, and that we could provide 2,000 additional jobs."
The new Amazon facility is hiring for 2,200 full- and part-time jobs that start at $17.55 an hour, the company said in a statement.
In Stockton, 7,550 people currently hold logistics jobs, Wright said. And as of July Amazon employs between 8,900 and 10,400 people in the county, according to the San Joaquin Partnership.
These jobs have gained a reputation as being tough work. On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law barring large retailers such as Amazon from firing workers for missing quotas that interfere with breaks, the AP reported.
But warehouse jobs have advantages, too: the average warehousing and storage worker made $990 per week in 2020, while the average food and beverage service worker made $410 per week, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
More:County has second-highest concentration of transportation, warehouse jobs
Amazon warehouse jobs can also be a good way for first-time job seekers to establish work histories because they do not require résumés, Thomas Pogue, director of the Center for Business and Policy Research, said.
Amazon recently announced plans to expand its Upskilling programs, which provide workers education and skills training to "help them secure new, high-growth jobs."
“The City of Stockton is looking to attract companies that hire (for) a variety of opportunities, whether that be entry-level, or more advanced, or management," Wright said. "So we always want to look to have a balance.”
Record reporter Aaron Leathley covers business, housing, and land use. She can be reached at aleathley@recordnet.com or on Twitter @LeathleyAaron. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.