PLAINS, Pa. — Employers lined up inside a ballroom at Mohegan Sun Pocono Casino was a happy sight for organizers of a job fair in Luzerne County.
"I will definitely say for being an in-person one—we've had virtual ones the past couple of years—this is the first one that so far it's been attended the most out of all of them," said coordinator Rebecca Reynolds. "It's nice to see people coming in and actually meeting their potential employers face-to-face for change."
"I think it's pretty good. A lot of people participating, which I think is good," said job seeker Joseph Donahue of Pittston.
"The last two and a half years in recruitment has been very difficult," said Kristie Baker, a senior recruiter with Beacon Specialized Living. "We relied fully on virtual career fairs, online advertisements, Facebook, Instagram, things like that. It was not successful. It was abysmal. We were in a really difficult position."
Baker hopes the job seekers showing up here is an additional sign that the tides are changing for the job market.
"In the past, I would say, four months, we've seen a significant uptick in applications," said Baker. "We're able to come to events like this now. Everybody's kind of out and about, the weather's good. We're hoping we have a good turnout today."
Newswatch 16 found job seekers here for a lot of different reasons. Some wanted a change of pace; others are just starting out.
"Looking for a part-time job. I'm retired. So I'm kind of bored sitting around the house just looking for something to spend a couple hours a day," said Donahue.
"It's a much different environment than a virtual job fair," added Reynolds. "For virtual job fairs, people need to be a little bit more technically savvy. And not all jobs require that technical background, so it's nice to see for all kinds of jobs, whether they're entry-level or high-end."
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