TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Some big box retailers are hiring employees for the holiday season but they’re not the only ones.
Most industries continue to have a need for workers right now, and have for months, according to Pima County Community and Workforce Development.
The ARIZONA@WORK center links employers with job-seekers, including veterans like Gabriel Lopez, who served in the Arizona and California National Guard.
He was laid-off twice and was looking for work at the center before getting a job there as a workforce development specialist.
He says staff members helped him with everything from clothes to the interview itself.
Now he’s on the other side of the table, helping people find jobs.
“It fills me with pride, because I know what they’re going through,” he explained. “I know what they need… And it gives them that sense of security. A sense of they’re not alone.”
Right now, those job seekers have an advantage. Across the job market this year, there have been more openings than people to fill them.
Michael Gates, Community Services Manager with Pima County One-Stop, oversees a team that helps people find work and advance their career paths.
Gates says that trend hasn’t really changed. He points out that more job seekers are eyeing industries like information technology, where they can work comfortably from home.
And it’s still a struggle for employers who need in-person workers.
“Areas such as construction, we have employers telling us: ’Send anybody. We’ll train ‘em. We don’t even care about them having any experience whatsoever, we will train them. We just need people,’” Gates said, adding that the issue also extends to industries like aviation and manufacturing.
And as people take holiday vacations to Arizona to escape the cold, restaurants and hotels once again have a bigger need for workers.
There’s no telling when this widespread ‘Help Wanted’ trend will end.
“Right now is the time to start working and to go up the ladder,” said Lopez. “There’s plenty of opportunities. There’s plenty of vacancies.”
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