Some struggle to find meaningful work in COVID era of job hunting

During the pandemic, it's been well-documented how many businesses are struggling to find enough workers to stay open. But despite the worker shortage in some industries, people in the Triangle say they are having a tough time finding work outside of the service industry.

Posted 9:13 p.m. Sep 27, 2021 — Updated 10:14 p.m. Sep 27, 2021

Keely Arthur

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — During the pandemic, it's been well-documented how many businesses are struggling to find enough workers to stay open.

But despite the worker shortage in some industries, a segment of people in the Triangle say they're having a tough time finding work outside of the service industry. According to the latest U.S. jobs report, while the unemployment rate fell nationwide last month, only 235,000 jobs were added.

Experts predicted more than 700,000 positions would be added. However, the reemergence of COVID through the delta variant has put a pause in hiring at some firms or slowed down. And the places that are hiring are really only looking for people who have specialized skills, according to economist Mike Walden.

One Robeson County woman said she's applied to hundreds of jobs and has had difficulty getting work. Nicole Hall is an example of someone who has a lot of degrees but not a lot of experience. She is recently out of the military. She's applied to positions within the city of Raleigh and Wake County Public School System with no luck.

The federal government's unemployment stimulus check program ended Sept. 6 but employers have yet-to-see what impact that will have.

"I have [put out] over 700 applications," said Hall, who's looking for an office job. "I cannot seem to get a job, I’m a little discouraged."

Are more people returning to work after federal unemployment stimulus ended?

Restaurants can’t hire people fast enough. One Raleigh-based Chick-fil-A recently had to abbreviate their hours due to staffing shortages. But a lot of people simply don’t want these kind of jobs. And they say their mission to find what they describe as more meaningful work is difficult.

The good news is Walden says this trend is temporary. As long as COVID numbers stabilize, the job market will follow, according to Walden. And we are already starting to see that today. Fidelity is expanding in the Research Triangle and looking to hire on 1,500 new jobs in the Triangle.

Walden, a professor emeritus at N.C State University, said while jobs are posted, companies are moving slowly to fill available positions.

"It's all pandemic-related," Walden said. "Businesses are waiting to see what happens. I think a lot of businesses, quite frankly, were fearful we were going to go back to where we were a year ago."

Many openings are posted. This last week alone Indeed.com added 6,152 jobs in Raleigh and 3,157 jobs in Durham, according to information supplied by WRAL Techwire.

Who's hiring in Triangle? IBM, Cree, Iqvia, Fidelity, Microsoft seeking talent

"There’s jobs galore but I don’t know, are they just posting them just to post?" Hall said.

The market right now may be especially tough for people like Hall, who has multiple degrees including a masters in business and is newly out of the military.

"They are looking for people with experience and they’ve been able to do that," Walden said. "Because there are a lot of people so they’ve been able to cherry pick people if you will."

"I went to school for years to work, that’s all I want to do," Hall said.

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