Jacksonville, Fla. — Unemployment remains high yet many businesses in our area say they can’t find enough workers to hire.
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On Wednesday there were at least a dozen local companies looking to hiring employees at the 2021 Jacksonville Job Link Job Fair at the Embassy Suites Hotel on Baymeadows Road.
Steve Sabatalo is Vice President of Conser Moving and Storage and he has positions to fill.
“Our primary objective is to recruit local drivers, movers, packers, and warehouse personnel,” Sabatalo said.
Megacorp Logistics is another company looking to hire more truck drivers too since the pandemic hit.
“People are buying more online, there’s more freight then ever that’s moving on the road and the fact that we need really good reliable divers,” said Carolyn Aubitz, Megacorps Logistics Corporate Recruiter said.
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The 2021 Florida Job Link Fair at the Embassy Suites Hotel had at least 200 jobs up for grabs.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office for example is looking to hire a lot of police officers and corrections officers.
Right now they also need to fill at least 15 positions within their 911 dispatch center.
But some attendees told me it’s been tough trying to get a job.
John Slate is retired navy and he’s faced many obstacles.
“I’ve actually on a couple of occasions been told I was too old. I’m extremely well educated and it just seems to be very hard out there,” Slate said.
Meanwhile Sabatalo told me he’s looking to hire between 20 to 30 employees.
His company mostly moves military families and right now May through September is their busiest season for moving.
“We’re looking for this season to be an extra peak season due to the fact that last summer the pandemic hit and a lot of the military couldn’t move so it’s going to be quit a summer,” he said.
Florida Job Link said next month it’ll be hosting another job fair in Jacksonville.