Handling Hardship: Data on Economic Insecurity Among Amazon Warehouse Workers

Millions of workers in the U.S. face serious financial hardship, including those working for some of the largest and most iconic global companies. Amazon has endeavored to cultivate a reputation as a generator of quality job opportunities, a claim that has gone largely unexamined through systematic evidence. In this report, we present findings on economic security among Amazon’s frontline warehouse workforce, drawing on a national survey of 1,484 workers across 451 facilities in 42 states. Key findings include:

• 53% of workers experienced one or more forms of food insecurity in the previous three months.
• 48% of workers experienced one or more forms of housing insecurity in the previous three months.
• More than half (56%) have not been able to pay all their bills without a remaining balance in the previous three months.
• One-third of workers (33%) have used one or more publicly funded assistance programs in the previous months, including 23% who have used the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
• Taking time off due to the health impacts of working at Amazon is linked with greater economic insecurity. For example, 60% of those taking unpaid time off due to pain or exhaustion from working at Amazon report one or more forms of food insecurity, versus 36% of those who have not taken time off. 

The findings from the National Survey of Amazon Workers suggest that, for many workers, a job at Amazon does not provide a clear pathway to economic security. Further, the data provide new evidence of the relationship between work-related pain and injury and workers’ economic challenges—showing, for the first time, a hidden cost of working at Amazon.