Walmart is making headlines with a promise to pay its truckers up to $110,000 per year in their first year, which is more than double the salary of some other drivers.
A Walmart spokesman told MarketWatch that previously, drivers could earn up to $87,500 in their first year. Drivers for the big-box retailer who have been on the job for more than a year now have the potential to earn more than $110,000, according to the company.
“We are seeing historic pay increases like this industry-wide, as carriers look to recruit new drivers amid a nationwide shortage that was exacerbated by the pandemic,” American Trucking Associations spokesman Jeremy Kirkpatrick said in response to the Walmart news. “Trucking represents one of the clearest paths in today’s economy to the middle-class without the costly requirements of a college degree,” he added.
According to recent job report data, transportation and warehousing jobs are among the few where wage growth is keeping up with inflation. According to the March jobs report, average hourly earnings increased by 5.6 percent across all jobs.
According to preliminary Bureau of Labor Statistics data, there are 940,600 workers in overall freight trucking. This includes both short- and long-distance drivers, with the industry adding roughly 40,000 new jobs since the same time last year.
