Apr 9, 2017

Warehouse workers are suddenly in demand

Mike Allen

Ted S. Warren / AP

A newly vital job category, vulnerable to automation, mushrooms across America.

"Online Retailers' New Warehouses Heat Up Local Job Markets: Fulfillment centers for online retailers are offering flexible work schedules, gift cards, bonuses and raises to attract workers," writes the Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Smith:

[W]ith the unemployment rate close to a 10-year low, competition for warehouse workers is fueling the biggest wage gains inside warehouses in at least a decade. Starting pay for warehouse workers rose 6% over the past year to $12.15 an hour in February ...

The warehouse and storage sector expanded dramatically as more people shop online ... Warehouse workers typically earn a few dollars an hour above minimum wage, though minimum-wage laws in places like California and Massachusetts could narrow the gap.

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WHO won't call coronavirus a pandemic as cases spread

Data: The Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins, the CDC, and China's Health Ministry. Note: China numbers are for the mainland only and U.S. numbers include repatriated citizens.

The World Health Organization will not yet call the coronavirus a pandemic, claiming that needs across affected countries are too varied and the classification would increase fear, per a briefing Monday.

The big picture: As South Korea and Italy stepped up emergency measures in efforts to thwart the spread of the virus, WHO expressed concern about infections with no clear link to China. COVID-19 has killed at least 2,620 people and infected almost 80,000 others, with all but 27 deaths occurring in mainland China.

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The global scramble to contain the coronavirus

Taking precaution, in the Philippines. Photo: Ezra Acayan/Getty Images

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Zoom in: Here's a look at what comes with a coronavirus outbreak in communities outside China that have been hardest hit so far.

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