An Amazon delivery vehicle is seen on S. Drexel Blvd. in Chicago on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

       Amazon wants to hire 125,000 delivery and warehouse workers and said Tuesday that it is paying new hires an average of $18 an hour in a tight job market as more people shop online.

       The company expects to hire about 7,700 in Illinois, where average starting wages will be $16 per hour.

       Competition for hourly workers has become fierce, and many companies are offering higher pay, sign-on bonuses and other incentives. Last week, package delivery company UPS promised to handout job offers in 30 minutes after candidates apply for many of the 100,000 holiday workers it plans to hire.

       Amazon has been doing more to lure workers, too. Last week it said it will start to pay full college tuition for hourly workers starting next year.

       Amazon’s starting pay is still $15 per hour, but with labor markets growing so tight in regions of the country, the company also said Tuesday that in addition to increasing hourly wages for some workers, it would begin offering a sign-on bonuses of $3,000 in some places.

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       More people have shifted from stores to online shopping over the past year during the pandemic, and retailers have adjusted hiring to accommodate those patterns. Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer, hired 500,000 people last year alone.

       The company said Tuesday that it has opened more than 250 new delivery facilities this year, including warehouses and airport hubs, and plans to open 100 more facilities this month alone.

       Chicago Tribune’s Lauren Zumbach contributed.

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