THOMASVILLE — New Hire Solutions currently has over 150 job listings available in the Southwest Georgia region but is having trouble finding employees to stay in those positions.  

“We have so many positions open right now. We always have positions available,” said Chandler Hurst, New Hire Solutions’ talent and business coordinator. 

New Hire Solutions is a staffing agency that has made it their mission to improve the unemployment rate in Southwest Georgia since 2005.  

They offer several job opportunities from part time to full-time work. 

“We cover anything from unskilled labor and skilled labor from data entry level to those skilled accountants, bookkeepers, you name it,” Hurst added. 

Right now, the highest demand job openings include electricians, welders, bookkeepers, and nursing jobs. 

While the agency is seeing a large pool of applicants taking advantage of job opportunities, Hurst said it’s been hard to get people to come into work. 

“Actually, getting people to show up for their first day of work seems kind of impossible at this time,” she said. “New Hire is also realizing that one of the struggles around this area is low-paying positions, but it’s also difficult to find employees with steady work history or even finding dependable employees,” 

According to the Department of Labor, Georgia’s unemployment rate is 3.5%. In Southwest Georgia, the unemployment rate remained at a 3.6% in August. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics also stated there were 11 million job openings reported in July 2021 nationwide.  

“Although we are seeing fewer unemployed individuals now than before the pandemic started, we are also still seeing a decreased total number of people in the workforce when compared to numbers recorded prior to the pandemic,” Department of Labor commissioner Mark Butler said press release. “This will continue to cause a hiring crunch until we can attract more people back to the workforce to fill the record number of job openings.” 

To help this problem, New Hire Solutions has targeted high school and college students looking to secure a job after graduation.  

“We just want to pull these people that are involved with school right now, just letting them know that there are local industries here in Thomasville that are willing to work with a student that finishes a pathway program through a school or even a student that goes through the technical college here,” she said. 

Hurst also said New Hire Solutions offers job training in things such as soft skills and resume building. 

“We definitely try to be out in the community in letting people know we can help of any circumstances they may have,” she said.  

Dr. Jeanine Long, director for Career Services and Counseling at Southern Regional Technical College, said the agency has benefited a lot of students during their transition to the workforce. 

“They have access to companies that may not let me know there’s an opening. It’s awesome,” she said. “The majority of our students have their job placements lined up before they actually graduate.”  

Hurst said getting people jobs, whether they are a student or not, is what New Hire Solutions is here to do.  

“We want to do what we can on our end to step forward in Southwest Georgia. We’re here to find people that want to work and fill these jobs,” she said.