Temporary Workers Needed for State Fair

“Maybe, I think, I could get a job guessing weights or something,” job applicant Cathy Kirk said.

The Employment Security Commission opened a mobile employment office Monday at Gate 10, at the intersection of Blue Ridge and Trinity roads.

Around noon Monday, more than 200 people were waiting to fill out State Fair job applications.

“Being around here all my life, you know what I'm saying, the fair, you know, when you're a little kid, it's the place you want to go to,” high school student Brandon Allen said.

“I always wanted to work part-time at the fair and I thought I'd give it a try this year,” said Kirk.

Although most jobs are filled by the time the fair starts, some workers quit, creating additional openings.

“Even a minimum wage job, the hours you can get, whether it's daytime or nighttime or really all day, these hours can add up over the two weeks of the fair and that can mean a decent amount of money for these folks,” Larry Parker, Employment Security Commission spokesman, said.

Whether washing concession stands, setting up rides or juggling for fairgoers, folks with whom WRAL talked said there was just something special about working at the State Fair.

“Cause this is the State Fair, [you can] have a good time and see people just enjoy themselves as you're working and making a little money,” job applicant Gwen Smith said.

For more information, call the ESC’s Public Information Office at 919-733-4329.

The North Carolina State Fair opens Friday and runs through Oct. 21.