Labor Day has passed this year, but the labor market continues to suffer after the pandemic.
There are numerous open jobs, but not enough people to fill the positions.
Dave Seeley, the new executive director of RochesterWorks!, says that the biggest question businesses have when working with him are whether or not he has workers for them.
Seeley has estimated that in Rochester alone there are 20,000 to 30,000 job openings right now.
He also expressed frustration, explaining that people often approach him with the assumption that there are many people living in poverty and they don’t understand why they can’t just get a job.
Seeley said there are many issues that get in the way of someone getting a job, like transportation or child care.
People also may just not want to expose themselves to COVID.
He said a lot of people are looking for call center type jobs because they can work from home or have minimal public interaction.
Despite federal unemployment coming to an end, Seeley doesn’t expect to see a drastic increase in job applicants like many seem to think is going to happen.
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