Unemployment dropped to a near 50-year low at the beginning of April, leaving local employers scouring for people to fill positions at almost every level of their organizations.
“It’s a war for talent,” Kathryn McKillop, the talent advisor for Concord Hospital, said at a job fair at Franklin Pierce University Thursday. “We’re looking at an 18-month average on the job for millennials, so it’s hard to find the right people who are going to commit to the job.”
The job market will likely continue to favor employees, as the national unemployment rate has stayed steady at about 3.8 percent in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. New Hampshire is tied with several other states for the lowest unemployment rate in the country at 2.4 percent.
Unemployment benefit claims dropped below 200,000 nationally in the week of April 6, the lowest level since 1969. Claims have dropped for four weeks in a row.
Eric Cutler, a production supervisor at WS Packaging Group in Wilton, said the manufacturer is looking to fill five temp-to-hire positions, and finding applicants is tough.
“We’re looking for someone that passes the mirror test … If you put a mirror in front of them, can you see their breath?” Cutler joked. “It’s very difficult to attract employees. People without jobs are without them for a reason. We’re competing with other companies for the employees.”
Employers said they’re willing to train people who are eager and willing to learn, saying a good attitude is more important to them than starting skill level.
Rachel Roberts, an administrator at Camp Starfish in Rindge, said the seasonal camp, which caters specifically to children with special needs, often attracts employees back each year, but the camp has to re-hire its entire staff each summer. Their employees are often young adults, and while people looking to enter fields such as sociology or education are a plus, generally they just need to be flexible, hard-working, and want to work with children, she said.
Employers said they are concentrating on attractive pay and benefits packages, and equally, creating an environment people want to work in long-term.
Most of WS Packagings new hires come through recommendations from current employees, Cutler said.
“Having a place people like to work, that has good pay and benefits, that offers advancement – word of mouth is how we do most of our hiring,” he said.
Franklin Pierce students who were at the fair eyeing future employment opportunities said they are looking for jobs that offer a good balance of pay and benefits, as well as room to grow. Many said they looked to the benefits first.
“Pay is number one, but benefits are also important. Health insurance is the big one,” said Ashley Gonyer of Newton, who is an accounting major.
Alana Wyatt, a social justice and communications major, said while a living wage would get her in the door, she needs a workplace where she can be satisfied for the long-term.
“I’d rather be happy working than have a place where that’s not important,” she said.
Several students said they don’t plan to stay in the state after graduation. An aging workforce and the exodus of young workers is a problem the state has been facing for years.
Chris Danksewicz of Franklin, Massachusetts, is a criminal justice major who wants to be a police officer. He’ll be looking for opportunities in Massachusetts, though, not New Hampshire, he said, mainly because the pay is higher south of the state border.
“There’s just more opportunity,” he said.
Adam Parady, of Hamilton, Massachusetts, said he’d also be returning to his home state after college. He already has a full-time job offer working for a real estate company there, he said.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.