CHICAGO—E-commerce has become the engine that drives much of the industrial real estate sector, and has greatly increased the need for warehouse labor. Furthermore, the steady fall of the unemployment rate has boosted labor costs and caused shortages for many operators around the US.
The combination of robust leasing activity from e-commerce operations and a constrained labor supply has boosted wage rates for warehouse labor at a faster rate than any other occupation, according to a new report from Chicago-based JLL. In fact, industrial markets with concentrations of e-commerce operations have seen median wage rates for laborers and freight stock employees increase by 5.8% from 2013 to 2015; meanwhile, in the same areas wage growth for all occupations only increased 2.7%.
“Clients are now asking us to do in-depth labor studies for them,” George Cutro, JLL's director of industrial research, tells GlobeSt.com. “They definitely want to know where the available supply of labor is.” A few years ago, “it was not as big a concern.”
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Brian J. Rogal
Brian J. Rogal is a Chicago-based freelance writer with years of experience as an investigative reporter and editor, most notably at The Chicago Reporter, where he concentrated on housing issues. He also has written extensively on alternative energy and the payments card industry for national trade publications.
