ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Chronic hiring issues and vacant positions continue to be a major problem for industries everywhere.
Right now, St. Louis County is looking to fill dozens of jobs across various divisions.
That's why they hosted a job fair on Tuesday, Nov. 14 and Darion Singleton was one of many that showed up.
"Yeah, it's pretty tough," Singleton said.
With inflation continuing to rise, Singleton like many, is struggling to keep up with his bills.
"Prices are high. Groceries are high. A lot of stuff is just high," he said.
That's why on Tuesday Singleton spent his morning at the St. Louis County job fair. The 27-year-old is hoping to tap into the construction field.
"Nowadays, you really need a skilled position in order to survive nowadays," he said.
Luckily for Singleton, HR Manager Toby Hopper said St. Louis County is in desperate need of employees.
"People have come to work their careers and are enjoying retirement, and then we've just been repeatedly trying to replace those individuals, which can be difficult," she said.
The county is looking to fill positions across various divisions including maintenance drivers, code enforcement inspectors, automotive technicians, corrections officers, building systems and structural mechanics and construction project managers, according to Hopper.
"Right now, it's just a competition for skills. There are just finite resources and everyone's competing for them," she said.
As the winter months creep in, Hopper said the need to fill certain positions is crucial and as the days get colder, the worry to fill those roles only grows.
"We've got folks that need to come plow the roads, so we can keep the public safe," she said.
It's a similar story within the parks department, according to Public Information Manager Anne Radford, they have over a dozen vacancies.
"We're looking from forestry supervisors to carpenters, structural asphalt crews to seasonal laborers," Radford said.
With over 70 parks and 1,200 acres, Radford said, without staff things get pushed back and delayed.
"It's a lot of work and we just want to be able to share it and beautify it for our residents," she said.
At the end of the day, the county is just hoping more people who want to provide a public service will join their team because if not, according to Hopper, county residents could feel the impact.
"I know everybody wants to drive down and not lose a tire or a pothole, so we need to get these positions filled," she said.
You can see a full list of current job openings within St. Louis County here.