There is no shortage of employers in the Peoria area looking to hire, as companies across a wide range of industries are trying to fill thousands of vacant roles.
The trick, however, is connecting prospective employees to employers before extended federal unemployment benefits end on Sept. 6.
In Peoria, the scope of businesses looking for employees ranges from manufacturing giants like Caterpillar, health care staples such as UnityPoint Health and OSF HealthCare, and local restaurant chains like Avanti’s.
Need for workers is so great that organizations like the Greater Peoria Economic Development Center have kicked into high gear to connect employers with applicants.
How to get hired in Peoria
Kari Rauh, the director of workforce solutions for the GPEDC, said she’s been hearing frequently from organizations who say “we can’t find talent.”
“We have been surprised at just how significant the hiring needs are for manufacturing companies in our region (and) health care,” Rauh said. “OSF has over 750 job openings right now, UnityPoint at over 400 openings right now. Even some of the smaller manufacturers have 80 job openings that they just can’t get enough people.”
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A pressing need for labor, especially in industries particularly hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic like retail and hospitality, led to the GPEDC to create its “hiring extravaganza,” which aims to get people hired.
The Sept. 1 event featured 111 business, and businesses looking to hire were marked with purple balloons.
The Peoria Job and Resource Fair will also be held at the RiverPlex Recreation and Wellness Center on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Chuck Brown, who has run the job fair for the last eight years, said the number of employers participating this year has doubled from 15 to 30 because “every last one of them” is in high need for workers.
“Companies are really seeking help really bad right now,” Brown said. “I believe the other incentive is that a lot of people who haven’t been able to find work, the unemployment is going to be running out Sept. 4, so definitely a motivator to help from the company side and individual job seekers.”
Every business is handling their hiring differently, Rauh said. Employers are trying to get creative as they tackle this unprecedented job market.
Peoria’s wide need for workers
Peoria’s labor shortage is not unique nationally, or to Illinois. And the openings in Peoria are spread across multiple industries.
“I talk with a lot of manufacturers about the need for welders in our region, or truck drivers,” Rauh said. “With the changing economy being so connected to the e-commerce world there is such a need for logistics and people who are involved in logistics and supply chains.”
Chuck Boyer, the senior operations manager of Precision Planting in Morton, said workers in the shipping a receiving department and line assemblers are greatly needed as the company expands.
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Precision Planting has 200 job openings. Boyer said historically that number hovers between 30-50.
“It does seem that the labor market is thinner, there are fewer people looking for work,” Boyer said. “We’re always looking for talented individuals. I think all you have to do is drive around and look at all the help-wanted signs and ads on radio and TV. Everyone is in the same position, whether it’s factories or restaurants, we’re all trying to get those employees.”
UnityPoint regional manager of talent acquisition Courtney Newgard said turnover there is about on par with how it has been historically. However, the difference in today’s job market, she said, is the lack of people in the market for work and need created by the pandemic.
“What we’re seeing is we just don’t see a lot of people in the job market,” Newgard said. “And what that’s meaning is that the positions that we have that are open are staying open longer than ever before.”
Andrew Schauer, a recruitment specialist at OSF, said the number of applicants for most positions has dropped from a pre-pandemic level of about “10 strong candidates” per opening to three to five.
Tech careers, like software development, UX design, copywriters, project managers, is another area of high-demand in the region. Welding and industrial maintenance are also high sought after positions, particularly as companies like Rivian continue to expand. The new Amazon distribution facility slated to open next year in North Pekin has created additional demand for transportation and logistics jobs.
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Nurses are also in high demand. UnityPoint has 120 openings for nurses alone. It’s something that Newgard said has been “extenuated” by COVID-19.
Likewise she said there is a high need for phlebotomy and service level positions like food service and housekeeping. This is true across the healthcare industry.
“What I want to stress is that with OSF, a lot of people think that it’s just a place where doctors or nurses work, but we have a lot of need for our core positions as well,” Schauer said. “We definitely have a need for folks working in housekeeping or food services as well as clerical and administrative jobs.”
Restaurants in particular are an area customers especially are feeling the impact of the labor shortage, Brown said.
“Some of the restaurants cannot operate at 100% capacity because of the shortage,” Brown said. “It shows up every time you go to a drive-thru at McDonald’s or you go to an Applebee’s. They have to close early some of the managers say because they can’t get help.”
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Ruah said the high number of well-paying jobs, like welding and software engineering, available in this job market make it especially unique. Brown said he has never seen so many employers offer bonuses and other incentives in an effort to attract workers.
OSF and UnityPoint both raised their company wide minimum wage to $15/hour and are offering signing bonuses for some positions.
At Precision Planting, Boyer said the company has started running help wanted ads on TV, radio and newspapers, something it has never had to do before. They have also begun offering employees incentives for referring new workers.
Impact on future of region
Rauh said another key effort driving the hunt for labor is working with employers to forecast what the jobs of the future will look like.
“We’re really focused on how do we, in a systematic way, work on building our workforce for the emerging workforce,” Rauh said. “How do we think long-term and be not only responsive to the economy that exists today, but the economy that will exist in 10 years.
“In many ways we will see, this has been a big experiment, we have never done something quite like this in central Illinois,” Rauh said. “There are many committed partners and organizations from across industry, the city, civic organizations, non-profits, for-profit entities and educators that are all committed in our region to building a workforce.”
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Providing a strong workforce is key to economic development, Rauh said. Companies that are looking to move to the region and companies already here for every one job they post they are looking for 10 people with that skillset.
“That’s a high bar to set and also something to be recognized that we need to all be working together to identify ‘what are those competencies?'” Rauh said.
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