Amazon alone added 100,000 additional workers to ensure delivery by Christmas. With on-line shopping having double-digit growth, the delivery services expect to handle 10-12% more packages than they did last year. And the pay's nothing to sneeze at: UPS boosted its hourly rate for seasonal drivers from $18.75 to $28.50. It sounds good, but some consumers of record online sales over the Thanksgiving weekend have had to be patient in waiting for their packages.
Still, none of the carriers are complaining--least of all the Postal Service, which has gotten a second wind from the increased demand for parcel delivery. The agency still hopes to fill more openings, and hasn't ruled out Sunday chimney calls in what's expected to be Santa's busiest Christmas to date.