HOLYOKE — Online retailer Amazon said it is hiring 1,400 people in Massachusetts as part of its plan to add 100,000 jobs across the country to deal with a spike in demand driven by the coronavirus.

That includes the new Holyoke distribution center, said Katelyn Chesley, public relations specialist for Amazon operations. Amazon is raising its starting wage to $17 per hour. This is an additional $2 per hour worked through April from its current rate of $15 per hour.

Chesley couldn’t say how many of the 1,400 new Massachusetts jobs will be in Holyoke versus other locations. Amazon also has fulfillment centers in Everett, Fall River and Stoughton.

Amazon isn’t the only company hiring amid the economic disruption caused by coronavirus. But some employers are already shedding jobs.

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said it received nearly 20,000 unemployment claims Monday alone. That’s more than it received during the entire month of February.

For the week ending March 14, Massachusetts had 7,408 new unemployment claims, up from 4,712 new claims in the same week of last year.

Nationally, the number of new jobless claims rose by more than 70,000 the week ending March 14, before many of the business shutdowns now racking the economy occurred.

Despite the economic slowdown, manufacturers continue to post jobs, said Patricia Crosby, executive director for the MassHire Franklin Hampshire Workforce Board. Trucking companies and extended care facilities are also among the recent job postings with her organization.

In Springfield, Kevin E. Lynn, executive director of MassHire Springfield Career Center, said CHD, the Center for Human Development social services agency, had recently posted job openings. Also, grocery stores are hiring people to stock shelves and keep up with consumer demand.

Crosby said the job postings are available on the MassHire website. She doesn’t yet know how employers are handling interviews and hiring given restrictions against gatherings of people.

Amazon said last year it would hire up to 235 warehouse workers, 168 delivery service personnel and 210 flex drivers for its distribution center in Holyoke. The center opened in early November, just before the Christmas rush.

On Thursday, Amazon confirmed reports that it’s closed a fulfillment center in Queens, New York, after a worker there tested positive for coronavirus. It’s the first case of COVID-19 in a North American Amazon worker.

“Health and safety are a top priority with all of our roles and sites,” the company said in an email. “We continue to consult with medical and health experts, and take all recommended precautions in our buildings and stores to keep people healthy. We’ve taken measures to promote social distancing in the workplace and taken on enhanced and frequent cleaning, to name just a few.”

The link to apply for Amazon jobs is here: www.amazon.com/jobsnow.

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