Hiring guideRead at source, 29 September 2026
How to Recruit Material Handlers: Pay, Shift, Place, and a One-Minute Application
To recruit material handlers, win on speed and clarity. Candidates compare several warehouse and plant jobs at once and choose on hourly pay, shift and commute. Put all three in the first line of a local Facebook or Instagram ad, say you train on pallet jacks and forklifts, use a no-resume mobile application with two or three knockout questions, text back within minutes and offer an interview or start date within days.
Who you are hiring
BLS lists "material handler" as an example title under laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand: 2,940,300 employed in 2025, projected to grow 1.8 percent by 2035, with about 340,500 openings a year (BLS Employment Projections 2025-35). The BLS, May 2025 median annual wage was $40,240, and no formal educational credential is typically required. Material handlers who mainly drive forklifts fall under industrial truck and tractor operators instead.
| Occupation | Employed, 2025 | Openings a year, 2025-35 | Median annual wage, May 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 2,940,300 | 340,500 | $40,240 |
| Stockers and order fillers | 2,804,300 | 430,700 | $37,330 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 765,200 | 64,700 | $46,420 |
Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35; BLS, May 2025 median annual wage.
The openings column is the point. With hundreds of thousands of openings a year across these jobs, candidates have choices, and a posting that hides the pay or the shift loses to the one that shows them. The material handler job description has a template and the requirements worth keeping.
Where to find material handlers
- Nearby warehouses, plants and retailers. Workers already moving product a few miles away will switch for a better shift or a small raise, if they see the offer.
- Retail and restaurant workers. Many want steadier hours or a set schedule. "Mon to Thu, four 10s" is a strong pitch to someone working rotating weekends.
- Former applicants and seasonal hires. Your peak-season workers and past applicants already know the building. See the warehouse recruiting playbook for how to re-engage them.
- Referrals. Current handlers bring friends who live nearby and can share rides. Pay the bonus after a set number of days worked.
- Hiring events. For volume hiring, an open interview day advertised on social brings candidates in on a date you choose.
Job boards work for this role, but they surface people already searching. Social ads reach people who would switch if they saw the offer. Meta employment ads run in the special ad category: no targeting by age, gender or ZIP code, and at least a 15-mile radius.
What to pay material handlers
Use the BLS, May 2025 median of $40,240 as a national reference, then check what the three nearest warehouses post, because that is the comparison your candidate makes. Shift differentials matter more here than almost anywhere; show them in dollars. The material handler job description covers the pay section in more detail.
Forklift training: an employer job, not an applicant filter
If the role includes forklifts or other powered industrial trucks, OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.178(l) makes the employer responsible: each operator must be competent as shown by completing training and evaluation, the employer must certify that training, and each operator must be evaluated at least once every three years. Prior training can count only if the operator is evaluated and found competent on your trucks and conditions. So a "forklift certified" line on an application does not take the obligation off you, and requiring it mostly shrinks the pool. Say "we train and certify." More detail is in OSHA forklift training requirements.
How to write the material handler ad
Sample ad. "Material Handler, [your rate]/hr plus [differential] nights. Four 10s, Mon to Thu, 3-day weekends. [City], near [landmark]. Pallet jack and forklift: we train and certify. Apply in 60 seconds, no resume."
That is pay, shift and place in the first line, then the training promise, then the easy application. Add the lifting requirement honestly in the body.
Screening questions for the application
- Which shift can you work? (Knockout if you only have one.)
- This job requires lifting up to 50 pounds regularly. Can you do this, with or without reasonable accommodation? (Use your job's actual lifting limit.)
- Do you have reliable transportation to our building for your shift?
That is enough. Each extra field costs completions. See pre-screening questions.
Speed and follow-up
A material handler who applies tonight may accept another offer tomorrow. Text within minutes, offer interview times in that first message, and give a start date at the interview if they pass. Recruiting text message templates has first-touch examples.
Keeping them past the first month
The first weeks are when a new material handler decides whether the ad was true. Three things undo it: a shift that differs from the ad, a trainer who is too busy, and a first paycheck that looks smaller than expected. Match the first week to what the ad promised, assign one named trainer per new hire, and explain the differential and overtime on the first pay stub before it arrives. Check in at day three and day 14. A text from the supervisor asking how the week went costs nothing and tells you who is about to leave.
What it costs to recruit material handlers
In the Warehouse / production family in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark, the median campaign cost $9.83 per applicant, with a middle half of $3.15 to $18.72, a blended $4.44 and a 20% apply rate. The spread inside that band is mostly form length: across the benchmark, campaigns with a 20-35% apply rate paid $4.41 per applicant against $23.13 at 5-10%. Full data is on the benchmarks page. Cost per applicant is not cost per hire.
Frequently asked questions
How do you recruit material handlers?
Run a local Facebook or Instagram ad that puts hourly pay, shift and location in the first line, promise forklift and pallet jack training, use a no-resume application with two or three questions, and text applicants within minutes.
Where can I find material handlers?
Workers at nearby warehouses and plants, retail and restaurant workers who want set schedules, your past seasonal hires and applicants, referrals from current staff, and people who come to an advertised hiring event.
Do material handlers need forklift certification before hiring?
No. Under 29 CFR 1910.178(l) the employer must train, evaluate and certify each powered industrial truck operator, and re-evaluate at least every three years. Prior training only counts after you evaluate the operator as competent.
How much do material handlers make?
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, the BLS occupation that includes material handlers, had a BLS, May 2025 median annual wage of $40,240. Industrial truck and tractor operators had $46,420.
What screening questions should a material handler application ask?
Shift availability, the ability to meet the lifting requirement with or without reasonable accommodation, and reliable transportation. Anything more costs applicants without removing people you could not hire.
How much does it cost to recruit a material handler on social?
The Warehouse / production family in Boostpoint's 2026 benchmark had a median of $9.83 per applicant, a middle half of $3.15 to $18.72 and a 20% apply rate. That is cost per applicant, not cost per hire.
How fast should I respond to material handler applicants?
Within minutes if you can. Warehouse candidates apply to several jobs at once, so a text with interview times in the first message often decides who gets the hire.
Fill the start class before the peak
Boostpoint Attract runs material handler and hiring-event ads on Facebook and Instagram with the creative made for you. Add Boostpoint Connect to text every applicant the moment they apply, or run one ad per opening from your job feed with Programmatic 2.0. Read our manufacturing and warehouse recruiting guide, or see pricing.
Book a DemoSources: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 (SOC 53-7062, 53-7065, 53-7051); BLS, May 2025 median annual wage; 29 CFR 1910.178(l); Boostpoint 2026 Social Job Advertising Benchmark. Read at source 29 September 2026.