Walmart on Thursday announced pay increases for its 8,000 truck drivers that it says will bump the average driver pay to nearly $90,000 during the first year of employment.

The retail juggernaut added a penny to its per-mile pay and 50 cents to its activity pay — the pay drivers receive for each pick-up or drop-off. The company said drivers can earn nearly 89 cents per mile — or an average of $87,500 in their first year.

That figure is more than double the average wage of $44,730 for Iowa workers, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

And it far outpaces the average pay of $42,570 for heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers in Iowa.

A company spokeswoman said the pay hike means drivers will earn about $1,500 more on average. Some earn as much as six figures.

While the figures may seem high at first glance, Walmart's average pay of $87,500 isn't out of line with what drivers can earn elsewhere, said Dave Pfiffner, director of the transportation institute at Des Moines Area Community College.

The company generally gets the "pick of the crop," Pfiffner said, preferring drivers with proven experience. Walmart requires 30 months of professional experience.

"They’re well paid. In the industry, pay has gone up significantly," he said. "So it's not totally out-of-the-ballpark high."

Graduates of the college's truck-driving program usually earn about $40,000 to $45,000 in their first year on the job. Pay can top $60,000 or $70,000 by the second year, Pfiffner said.

That means truck drivers in Iowa could earn more than the average pay of accountants ($66,500), financial analysts ($78,450), electricians ($52,970) and elementary school teachers ($53,710).

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Companies have long complained about a truck-driver shortage across the United States. The nationwide driver shortage has pushed up freight costs and subsequently increased retail prices.

One industry expert projected the U.S. could be short 175,000 drivers by 2026.

Driving a truck can be difficult work. Many drivers work long days on the road away from home. And turnover is commonplace in the industry: The turnover rate at large truckload carriers reached nearly 90 percent in the third quarter of 2018, according to the American Trucking Association.

That rate was an improvement from previous quarters when the association blamed widespread wage increases for motivating drivers to move around.

"It's really competitive," Pfiffner said.

About 200 students go through DMACC's truck-driving program each year. They'll usually see about 12 to 20 recruiters over the course of the six-week program, he said. And many will enter the program with a job commitment already secured.

"Some people like to have two or three of those in their back pocket," Pfiffner said. "The average student could probably do 10 applications and have 10 offers."

Walmart plans to hire hundreds more truck drivers as demand for transporting goods increases.

"As our business continues to grow, we must recruit and retain the best, safest truck drivers in the industry," Mike Billups, Walmart general transportation manager for Iowa, said in a news release. "Simply put, we would not be able to deliver Every Day Low Prices to Walmart shoppers without our first-class fleet of professional drivers.

"This wage increase demonstrates our commitment to one of the most critical parts of our team."

Walmart could not say how many Iowa-based drivers it employs, though the company does operate a transportation office out of Mount Pleasant.