ORLANDO, Fla. – Thousands of people lined outside the Amway Center as part of the OrlandoJobs.com job fair, which featured more than 120 employers looking to fill more than 7,000 openings.
With the Florida unemployment rate at its lowest in a decade, at 3.9 percent, organizers said their job fair is adapting more to help those looking to improve their careers, as opposed to just helping people re-enter the workforce.
"Orlando has an underemployment problem," Orlando Jobs president Roger Lear said. "We have a lot of people who want to better their careers and get better jobs than what they have and find what other opportunities that are out there that may pay a little more money than what they make."
Michael Presley of Orlando currently works as a part-time IT contractor, and showed up to the fair to look for some full-time work.
"I'm looking to upgrade," he said. "I'm looking for a little more action and I'm looking to stay in the industry I've been working in for 30 years and loving it."
And that low unemployment rate, which is even considered "full employment," is making things tough for employers to find the people they need to fill positions.
"It's very tough," Natalia Hernandez with Liberty Staffing said. "We're competing with other markets and other hotels and staffing companies, so it's very hard."
In law enforcement, DFC Angela Keller with the Orange County Sheriff's office says her recruiting team has to travel to job fairs across the country, just to find qualified applicants who can pass a rigorous background check.
"It's in high demand," she said. "All the agencies around central Florida and Florida, we're looking for the most qualified and sometimes it's difficult. It's very competitive. We have trouble with people and their backgrounds with drug usage, things like that."
OrlandoJobs.com hopes to host other job fairs like this one in the near future.