Employers Hosting Job Fairs On Long Island In Dash To Hire Workers
ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- With pandemic unemployment assistance now gone, families are no longer seeing the extra money each week that helped.
But employers are hiring, and some say they're dealing with a serious labor shortage.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, Eric Tigre, filling out a job application, says he's finding no shortage of openings.
"I've been looking all around. There's many opportunities for people to get jobs nowadays," Tigre said.
After more than a year of pandemic layoffs and closures, the job market is now hot, leaving employers struggling to fill jobs.
"Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, landscapers, masons, concrete, they're all looking for help," said Chris Heinssen of GTS Builders Supply.
GTS Builders Supply needs customer service and sales employees, drivers, and more.
"We're really not get anybody to come here, where before we used to get a lot people. So it is word, that it is the checks," said GTS Builders Supply owner Eunice Lipsky.
Those pandemic related unemployment checks ended on Labor Day. They were authorized at the onset to keep families afloat amid layoffs, remote schooling, and COVID raging.
But employers say they are still seeing hesitancy, and are willing to train to get positions filled, such as in-home care services.
"We still find that caregivers are still holding back and hesitant about coming back because they're, I'm not sure if they're hoping that the, if the benefit will extend," said Angel Ortiz of Senior Care Companions.
On Tuesday, more than 60 companies looking to hire will be meeting applicants at two Long Island job fairs. One will be at the Holtsville Holiday Inn, and the other in Hauppauge, featuring manufacturing.
Organizers say even minimum wage jobs can be a stepping stone.
"When you have no paycheck coming in, any job should be considered a good job. Statistics show that the amount of time spent, someone making minimum wage at a job, is less than four months," said Dean Murray, publisher of "Long Island Job Finder."
At DiCarlo, which distributes food to schools, restaurants and hospitals, there are positions for drivers, warehouse workers, food selectors. Dozens of jobs that have gone unfilled for more than a year.
To fill the jobs, some companies are offering $100 for hired job applicants to get vaccinated.
You can register for the job fair from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. in Hauppauge on Tuesday by CLICKING HERE.
The Holtsville job fair is walk in, with proper business attire. Call (631) 758-2900 for directions.
If you need proper interview attire, call Career Couture at (631) 853-6769.
