Morgan Stanley: ‘Amazon Effect’ Doesn’t Damper Local Hiring

A new report shows that the arrival of Amazon brings major benefits to a location’s labor market.

The new analysis from Morgan Stanley aimed to take a look at the eCommerce giant’s real impact on the job market “beyond the negative headlines around the hollowing out of brick-and-mortar retail.”

In cities with multiple Amazon fulfillment centers, the analysis revealed that job creation was “well above the national average” and that the company has been “both a net job creator and a catalyst for stronger job growth.”

“Amazon’s positive impact on U.S. jobs, both at the national and local level, has more than offset potential cannibalization of brick-and-mortar retail employment,” equity analyst Mark Savino said in a note to clients, according to CNBC.

In fact, in the top 10 metropolitan areas that are home to at least five Amazon fulfillment centers, total job growth has outpaced the national average by 190 basis points in the three years after the company’s entry, Morgan Stanley said. Those areas also saw growth in the transportation, warehousing, and utilities sectors, which have outperformed by 360 basis points, “demonstrating that the company can drive job growth across multiple verticals.”

The report comes after Amazon announced last month that it is splitting its second headquarters between New York City and Northern Virginia. Each location is expected to have as many as 25,000 employees. It’s a decision that hasn’t been met with complete enthusiasm. In New York, state, city and local residents have opposed the deal because it allowed Amazon to minimize the need for local approvals, as well as the $2.8 billion in tax breaks and incentives offered to lure the company to Queens, and how the company will affect the neighborhood’s infrastructure.

It’s looking up for Amazon, though. Earlier this month, a poll of New Yorkers found that the majority of respondents were in support of the company’s plans to build in the area, with 57 percent saying they approved of the move and 26 percent saying they opposed it.