YORK, Pa. — Dozens of employers linked with potential employees at PeoplesBank Park in York. More than 40 employers throughout the York area participated.
The job fair comes on the heels of a promising June Jobs Report.
Officials at the fair said hiring and retaining employees has been a nationwide issue since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains a constant battle, especially for York County businesses.
“Workforce is the number one challenge that we're hearing from our companies,” Sully Pinos from the York County Economic Alliance said. “But it's also something that we've heard for before in 2020.”
In the June Jobs Report, the national unemployment rate was 3.6% with nearly two job openings for every person looking for work.
In York County, the unemployment rate sits at 3.8%, and across the state, 4.6% of Pennsylvanians remain unemployed.
“Even at the academic level, people don't even know how to crack this case,” Crownstone Equipment Human Resource Manager Nicole Vietmeier said.
Crownstone was one of the many employers searching for workers at the event. Vietmeier described the challenge of both hiring and maintaining workers.
“I'm starting to see a lot more no-call no-shows, not just for interviews, but even for the first day of work,” Vietmeier explained. “It even goes up to management level positions.”
Vietmeier says right now employees hold more power. Those on the hunt for jobs are choosing carefully.
Another blow to employers is that applications for jobless aid rose in the first week of July to the highest level since December.
“I can be a little more selective,” York resident Tayna Schuck said.
“It's hard to find a job that pays good enough to make it by anymore with the inflation of prices on everything, you know, rent going up all that stuff," said York resident Skylur Waudby.