Warehouse jobs grow in the Hudson Valley, but will they be filled?
Warehouses are booming across the region, creating thousands of jobs over the past two years.
In fact, of all business sectors in the Hudson Valley, projections are that warehousing will continue to see the fastest growth in jobs.
But labor shortages continue across the region, and warehouses are not spared. Some big-box retailers’ distribution centers are fully staffed, while others are struggling to hire. At recent job fairs, one fully staffed warehouse sought to continue hiring workers, while a recruiter for another warehouse had to be absent to cover a shift in an understaffed facility.
Employment experts attribute the discrepancy to differences in company cultures and how attitudes about work have been altered by the pandemic.
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Maureen Halahan, president and CEO of Orange County Partnership, a Goshen-based nonprofit that promotes economic development, said that large warehouses can be attractive to job-seekers because they offer high pay and perks and, even more importantly, they try to meet workers’ needs. Many offer flexible hours to accommodate family obligations and extra paid time off based on performance.
“All these programs didn’t exist before COVID… The workers are definitely shopping around. It’s their market right now because everybody needs workers,” she said.
More growth ahead
Dozens of warehouses have opened in the Hudson Valley in recent years, with more to come in the near future.
Several big-box retailers operate distribution centers in the region, including Amazon and Medline. Amazon’s two large warehouse projects − a fulfillment center in Montgomery and a warehouse in East Fishkill − are expected to create about 2,000 jobs. Medline’s new $120 million facility allows the company to retain its workforce of 350 while adding 350 new jobs.
In Orange County alone, 1,526 jobs have been created in the warehouse and distribution sector since 2020, according to Orange County Partnership.
A report by the state Department of Labor labeled warehouse and storage sector as a significant industry in the Hudson Valley because of its above-average job growth. While the number of jobs ticked up from 3,600 to 3,700 between 2015 and 2020, the report projected 56.5% growth in warehouse jobs for 2018-2028, which would make it the fastest growing industry in the region.
Jesse Greenberg, who was Medline's spokesperson until recently, said the company had committed during the planning process to hire 350 employees over five years. But this goal was achieved by the first day they moved into the facility in August.
“Hiring is on an ongoing basis," Greenberg said. "We’re always growing. We may not be hiring at as a fast clip as we were, but we’re definitely continuing to hire."
Workers needed
Employers acknowledged the labor market is still competitive, but say hiring is easier than two years ago.
Jennifer Reece, recruiter of Gap Distribution Center in Fishkill, said applications started to pick up in past weeks as the center aims to fill 1,300 positions by Black Friday. To do that, they need 500 applicants a week. Applications doubled to 200 this week over last week.
"Every year since COVID is a new adventure," she said. "We're trying to adjust and evolve. It's a very competitive market in Hudson Valley. There's a lot of jobs. We may not necessarily have the amount of people to fill all the jobs."
Nationwide labor shortages are forcing employers to hike wages and to offer incentives and flexible working hours. Medline offers a starting hourly salary of $24, a $5,000 sign-on bonus and a full package of benefits. Amazon offers prepaid college tuition, 20 weeks of paid family leave and flexible scheduling.
Reece She said candidates often request flexibility. The company has come up with different scheduling, like allowing employees to work four days a week for 10 hours a day.
Companies are also trying to improve their working environments and reaching out to local communities about job opportunities. Some are working with municipalities and schools to develop programs to prepare young people for jobs.
However, some are concerned about a proliferation of warehouses when there is a saturated labor market.
State Sen. James Skoufis, D-Cornwall, was concerned about warehouses creating more jobs than needed. He said warehouses may be wrongly incentivized by local economic development agencies to create a proliferation of jobs as tax breaks.
“There is a limited pool of employees that are available to work in distribution," Skoufis said. "With every warehouse that is built in Hudson Valley, they are tapping into that same pool, and eventually that pool runs out.”
The keys to attracting more workers to a region, he said, are to add affordable housing, set reasonable property tax rates, and improve transportation.
“There are dozens of warehouse proposals in the pipeline throughout Orange County," he said. "If the existing warehouses think hiring is hard now, just wait until you compete with another 20 warehouses for the very same pool of employees. It’s going to get worse. Our economic development officials need to reorient and we have to diversify our job market.”
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Despite labor shortage, warehouse jobs grow fast in Hudson Valley NY
