Laid-off workers looking for a job in the hospitality industry this spring may find fewer options than past years as businesses scale back hiring, employment officials said.
Hotels and other businesses in the tourism industry generally start hiring extra workers going into the spring, but this year has been different, Buncombe County Employment Security Commission Director Rick Elingburg said.
He estimates hospitality job postings so far have been only about 20 percent of what he typically sees this time of year.
“We’re seeing very minimal job vacancies in the hospitality field right now. I think some employers are gradually starting to call folks back or give them a few more hours, but nothing in terms that would be significant that we see right now,” he said.
Unemployment statewide reached a record high at more than 10 percent in February, while the jobless rate in Buncombe County stands around 8 percent.
The significant number of people looking for work may create a higher than normal turnout for a hospitality career fair Thursday at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Recruiters from more than 30 hotels and restaurants are expected to attend the annual job fair, scheduled from 9 a.m.-noon in the Magnolia Room of the Asheville campus.
“We think the interest from the public could be in the hundreds just because of the need there is for employment right now. We’re looking for a very big turnout,” A-B Tech culinary arts and hospitality instructor Walter Rapetski said, noting that the event drew about 150 people last year.
Unemployment in North Carolina reached 10.7 percent in February, the highest level since the U.S. Bureau of Labor began keeping seasonally-adjusted employment numbers in 1976, according to a statement released Friday by the ESC.
Buncombe County’s unemployment rate stood at 8.2 percent in January, with Haywood at 10.6, Henderson at 8.8 and McDowell at 15.5, among the highest in the state. Five of the eight counties with the highest unemployment rates are in the mountains. The rate in 12 of 18 WNC counties hit double figures.
The number of people employed by the hospitality and leisure industry dropped by about 3 percent statewide this February compared to the same time last year.
Though companies have scaled back in hiring, Rapetski said hotels and restaurants at the job fair will still be looking to fill full-time, part-time and seasonal positions as the spring and summer seasons approach.
“Companies are looking at short-term summer hotel needs, and they’re also looking at long-term growth,” he said.
Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain is looking to fill about 70 positions for housekeepers, front desk staff, kitchen positions and other jobs, which are mostly seasonal.
The conference center has already started hiring after a flood of phone calls and applications that came earlier than year’s past.
“It happened earlier; phone calls, e-mails, the interest in summer seasonal employment has started a lot sooner this year,” Blue Ridge Assembly Staff Development Director Elaine Godfrey said.
Some of the other companies scheduled to attend the job fair include Biltmore Estate, Biltmore Farms Hotels, Grove Park Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, Renaissance Hotel, Ruby Tuesday, Frankie Bones, O’Charleys, Dollywood, Biltmore Forest Country Club, Arby’s, Subway, Washington Duke Resort, Stir Fry Cafe, Pomodoros, Chimney Rock Park, Harrah’s Casino and Mountain Air Country Club
Source: Asheville Citizen Times
