SWFL companies struggle to fill open jobs – even off season
It's the cry coming from employers struggling to fill jobs in
With unemployment rates so low in the region, many businesses -- from restaurants to hospitals -- are facing a shortage of year-round workers and some fear they won't get enough seasonal workers to meet demands for the busier months ahead.
Businesses are getting more aggressive about hiring, holding job fairs for the first time, raising pay and offering additional incentives, including referral and sign on bonuses.
The worker squeeze has been worsened by the fact that summer isn't as slow as it once was in
"Several employers didn't really have a break this summer. They were really active all summer long. We are starting to see that this area is a destination all year round now," said
In August, more than 11,580 listings were posted online for jobs in
Early start
Some employers started their seasonal hiring early, trying to get a jump on the competition.
CareerSource Southwest Florida, funded by state and federal dollars, matches job seekers with employers. During the past few months, it has hosted a flurry of job fairs at its centers in
"For the longest time it was the employers' job market. Now it has shifted back to the job seekers' market. We've just got to get the word back out there that there are plenty of employers, there are plenty of opportunities," Barger said.
Among the most sought-after employees are chefs, servers and bartenders, following a national trend of worker shortages in the restaurant industry. Over the past few years, a slew of new restaurants have opened in
Last month,
In
"Times have certainly changed. Now it's more than just placing ads. It's becoming engaged on social media with those candidates that are searching for a new position," Krzak said.
Not alone
Restaurants are far from alone in their desperate search for workers. With construction booming again in
The multigenerational community is creating a range of jobs, from housekeeping to nursing. "Think of a hotel, we have every need you have at a hotel, but add health care to it," Lamon said.
To make itself more attractive to job seekers, The Arlington has tweaked its employee benefits. New employees can get health insurance on the first day of the month after they're hired. For certain management positions, there are sign on bonuses, paid after a year on the job.
"Because we are phasing in the hiring I'm pretty confident we will have what we need," Lamon said. "We'll wait for quality because we want to make sure we have the right people."
No one 'beating down the door'
Job fairs are new for RWL, which is looking for residential installers for cable, phone and Internet. Installers are paid per job, but receive company benefits, such as health insurance, and can earn up to
"We don't have people beating down the door at this point," White said. "We are exhausting all options to try to network, more so than we have in the past."
RWL is looking to fill at least 30 jobs, but the need for workers is closer to 50, White said. One of the biggest challenges, he said, is finding workers who can pass a background check and qualify to drive a company truck.
Like many other employers, RWL is offering incentives to try to attract new workers including referral bonuses.
At its job fair in August,
The optometry practice, with offices in
"It's hard for us to find people that live in
Hospitals hurting
As the busy season approaches, hiring has already kicked into high gear in the health care industry, which is in need of hundreds of workers.
With about 11,500 employees and hospitals in
"The community continues to grow. The economy is more on a rebound. So we are trying to increase our capacity and to meet the needs of the community," she said.
The health care system's aggressive attraction strategies include advertising on niche websites, organizing meet-and-greets with potential candidates, sending recruiters on out-of-state missions, offering relocation assistance and giving referral bonuses for certain jobs, up to
Some of the hardest workers to find, she said, are critical care nurses, medical technologists, physical therapists, IT/business systems analysts, coders and advanced providers, such as physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
The
New positions are being created by
To be more competitive, the health care system recently started offering medical benefits to new hires on their first day, said
Help needed
To handle its growing service demands,
"When an opening occurs, we get a strong response to our position postings," said
Others hanging out their help wanted signs are:
The casino and its neighboring hotel have about 40 open jobs, mostly due to turnover, said
"We are a year-round business, 24-7. So we don't necessarily see the same seasonality patterns that some of the other industries in our market do. So we are constantly hiring," Gibson said.
As for
"The most difficult jobs to fill locally are financial/audit positions because they require previous corporate experience at a Fortune 500 company," she said.
Later this month, Home Depot will be looking to hire more than 450 associates at about 60 of its
"We've had pretty good luck hiring because of our culture, but we also offer a 401(k) program, as well as discounts on cell phone carriers, gym memberships electronics and other products and services from over 30,000 other merchants, Harrigan said.
Additionally, he said, the retailer offers tuition reimbursement, vision and dental benefits and critical illness and disability coverage to all of its workers, including part-timers.
As it continues to expand, global medical device manufacturer
"In addition, with the return of a strong local housing market, housing affordability for employees is once again becoming a significant factor in recruitment," he said.
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