An employee pulls carts towards a Walmart store in Lakewood, California, U.S., on Thursday, July 16, 2020.
Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg/Getty Images

Amid a red-hot labor market, Walmart last summer expanded its education program to cover full college tuition for associates, promising nearly $1 billion over five years. (Target swiftly unveiled a similar program.) Walmart hopes employees will pursue degrees in fields like cybersecurity and supply-chain management, then work in related roles for the chain. The retail giant is also giving more part-timers full-time jobs and has raised its average hourly wage to $16.40, though its minimum still lags behind competitors’.

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