Building warehouses comes with the promise of jobs. Here's what those positions look like

As the warehousing industry in Philadelphia expanded and development boomed, so, too, did warehouse employment.

The most plentiful jobs, at the entry level, are often physically demanding. "It's a wear and tear on your body. It's a job that's on your feet, all day, moving," said H. Patrick Clancy, president and CEO of Philadelphia Works, a workforce development board.

But they can lead to stable, more lucrative careers in an industry whose need for workers remains robust.

Warehouse jobs can be a strong starting point for workers with limited English, Clancy said, or a workforce-reentry opportunity for formerly incarcerated people.

It's often shift work outside the typical 9-to-5, which may appeal to those with daytime parenting and caregiving duties, said Anne Strauss-Wieder, professor at Rutgers University's Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and director of freight planning for the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority.

Typical entry-level jobs start at $15 to $20 an hour, but pay jumps for those who ascend into supervisory roles. Warehousing and storage managers make an average salary of $104,000, according to 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"There is at least a career ladder opportunity," Clancy said.

A hiring boom

E-commerce, already growing in popularity pre-COVID-19, surged in 2020. While the pandemic has eased, consumers' online buying habits are expected to stick long-term.

All of those online purchases are processed at fulfillment centers. Unlike storage warehouses, which hold materials for extended periods, fulfillment centers move a high volume of goods daily and require many employees. They often have one worker per 1,000 feet — roughly three times what a storage warehouse would employ — and as many as three per 1,000 square feet during peak seasons such as the holidays and back-to-school time, Strauss-Wieder said.

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