The US government defines the “courier and messenger” industry as companies involved in picking up and delivering goods that can be held by an individual without special equipment. A large share of the people in this sector work for shipping companies like Fedex and DHL. There is also a growing number that do last-mile delivery for Amazon fulfillment centers.

Generally, these are not high-paying jobs. The hourly median wage for a courier in 2018 was about $13.80, compared to the $18.60 national average.

The rise of delivery jobs is part of a broader boom in logistics jobs that support e-commerce. Positions in warehousing are also up almost 9% over the last two years, and the number working in trucking is up 4%. At the same time, 1% fewer people now work in retail, even as the overall workforce is growing.

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