NC companies raising wages in effort to lure workers

First, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the fair was a drive-thru event in a college parking lot rather than an indoor event. More importantly, according to employers, the number of job-seekers was fewer than expected.

"This year, employers were literally begging me to figure out what can we do to get students," organizer Sonya Small said. "We’ve done emails. We’ve done just posting it on our social media, so we wanted to figure out something else so that they could actually meet face to face and possibly get some connections."

Some of the companies with tents at the job fair said it’s been difficult filling open positions, even as the economy struggles to regain momentum amid the pandemic.

Maria Mancha with the Cheesecake Factory Bakery, which bakes 30,000 cheesecakes every day to be shipped to the company's restaurants, said salaries have been raised salaries for certain shifts.

"We’re opening a weekend crew, and we’re paying $2 extra [an hour] on weekends," Mancha said. "So, it’s a huge incentive to come and work for the weekend."

Work agencies said employers have to offer strong incentives and higher salaries to get skilled workers.

A lot of the open positions at the job fair pay between $14 and $26 per hour. At $14 an hour, someone would earn about $2,200 a month before taxes.

But someone getting North Carolina's maximum weekly unemployment of $350, plus $300 per week in federal unemployment compensation, would be pulling in $2,600 a month before taxes.

"We used to get probably 20 or 30 new [applicants] each day in the system. Many times, we’re now seeing one to four," said Lottie Tharrington, with the Action Group, a staffing company serving Nash, Edgecombe and Wilson counties. "We have some really top-level jobs."

Nash Community College is planning another outdoor job fair, from 9 a.m. to noon April 27, that will be open to the public.