This Walmart job starts at $95,000 a year

More and more companies offer remote work 2:06

New York (CNN Business) --

Walmart is raising wages for long-haul truck drivers, a demanding job that's increasingly difficult for companies to fill.

Walmart, one of the few retail chains that has its own fleet of trucks, said it is increasing the average starting salary for first-year drivers from about $88,000 to a range of $95,000 to $110,000.

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Walmart needs drivers to deliver products to e-commerce stores and warehouses, as well as to meet the growing demand for online customer orders.

Walmart hired more than 4,500 drivers last year, a record hiring spree for the company, which employs about 12,000 truckers.

The latest pay increase "will help us continue to hire aggressively to meet all-time high demand from customers," a Walmart spokesperson said in an email.

Walmart is also trying to hire new drivers internally.

It began a three-month development program for its supply chain workers in select areas to earn their commercial driver's licenses and become Walmart truck drivers.

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Trucker shortages during the pandemic have put pressure on supply chains.

About 70% of US cargo moves by truck.

However, turnover is high in the trucking industry and the job is known for long hours, weeks away from home and low wages.

It is also physically demanding.

The median salary in 2020 for heavy-duty truck and tractor-trailer drivers was $47,000, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Companies have raised wages to hire drivers and stay competitive, but the trucking industry said last year it was still 80,000 drivers short.

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