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Amazon now employs almost 1 million people in the U.S. — or 1 in every 169 workers

Amazon has paid a $15 an hour minimum wage for all its employees since 2018, more than double the federal minimum wage.
Workers fulfill orders at an Amazon fulfillment center on Prime Day in Raleigh, N.C., on June 21, 2021.
Workers fulfill orders at an Amazon fulfillment center on Prime Day in Raleigh, N.C., on June 21, 2021.Rachel Jessen / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

Amazon has revealed for the first time the number of people it employs in the U.S., putting the figure at 950,000, according to the e-commerce giant's quarterly earnings call on Thursday.

While the headcount was boosted by an additional 64,000 people hired in the second quarter, it does not include the thousands of contractors such as drivers whom Amazon depends on to run its Amazon Prime delivery operations.

The company's total employee count was shared in a lengthy press release, in a section titled “Investing in Employee Safety and Providing Good Jobs,” where Amazon revealed it has “introduced a new mental health benefit for all of its 950,000 U.S. employees, their families, and household members.”

Globally, the company employs 1.3 million people. It is the second largest employer in the U.S., behind Walmart, which currently employees nearly 1.6 million people in the U.S.

As of June, the national private sector workforce is roughly 161 million people, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means about 1 out of every 169 people in the country’s workforce works for Amazon, while about 1 out of every 100 people in the U.S. workforce is employed by Walmart.

Even with such a large fleet of workers, Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company’s demand for more employees remains high.

The demand for labor is “probably one of the bigger elements of inflation in our business right now,” Olsavsky said on a call with reporters, acknowledging the competitive labor market.

“We’re spending a lot of money on signing and incentives,” Olsavsky said, adding that the wage increase the company typically offers in October was “pulled forward into May.”

Amazon has paid a $15 an hour minimum wage for all its employees since 2018, more than double the federal minimum wage, which is currently $7.25 an hour.