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The job market: Signs of the times

By Staff | Jul 27, 2021

Some signs of the times:

Press release: The Lee Clerk of the Courts is holding a career fair.

Press release: The School District of Lee County is hosting an informational event on teaching positions within the district.

Press release: The School District of Lee County has a critical need for bus driver applicants.

And posted publicly virtually everywhere — restaurants, shops, gas stations, convenience stores, hotels, big box stores and even delivery and service vehicles — Help wanted. Now hiring. Call now.

Lee County may be a sellers’ market when it comes to housing but it’s definitely a buyers’ market when it comes to jobs: Employers, already burdened with pandemic-related costs and losses, can’t fill positions.

Meaning they can’t, well, get back to business despite the touted “reopening,” despite the first steps back to a “normalcy” that is likely changed for the foreseeable future as employers and prospective employees alike contend with not only the baggage of recent financial loss but the weight of greatly increased costs.

A couple of things.

If you’re looking, there are good jobs out there in most any fields from construction and skilled trades to the perennial needs positions in fields such as health care and education, including support personnel.

If the press releases cited piqued your interest, the Lee County Clerk of Court will host its in-person career fair on Aug. 5 from 3 to about 6 p.m. at the County Admin East building at 2201 Second St. in Fort Myers. Participants will have the ability to speak directly with hiring managers. Registration is required at www.leeclerk.org/careerfair.

The School District of Lee County’s event, Social Lee: Careers & Conversations, will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on July 29 at University Grill at 7790 Cypress Lake Drive in Fort Myers. An invitation to interview may be offered. Visit www.LeeSchools.net/Careers.

The School District of Lee County, meanwhile, will provide training for its new drivers, paying for all the fees to be trained to get a CDL license and, as an incentive, also will provide full benefits. Apply online at www.leeschools.net or call 239-590-4048.

Meanwhile, if you just want to get to work, service and retail related jobs are EVERYWHERE.

Which brings us to our second point.

If you’re looking to dine out or shop, don’t expect full-staff service. There are too-few staffers to provide it.

That means waits at restaurants (No, they are not failing to seat you at those empty tables, there simply aren’t enough servers or cooks to make filling to capacity possible.)

That means longer lines at checkouts or the annoyance of self-checkout. (Yes, count us among those who hate running two dozen cans of pet food through the self-scanner.)

Do, please, please be kind to those who are at work — or back to work.

If you’re dining out, enjoy the experience and the company. Tip well.

If you’re shopping, queue up at self-checkout or be patient to the nice cashier who’s likely heard the long-line complaint multiple times within an hour into his or her very-long shift.

We wish the best of luck to job seekers, employers and employees alike as the job market finds its new level.

— Reporter editorial