KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the economy rebounds, many businesses are trying to hire employees. For the first time in a year, people in the Kansas City area looking for a job had a chance to do it in person at a job fair.
About 60 businesses set up tables at Arrowhead Stadium Wednesday.
For people like Kansas City resident Shaqula Bass, the event was an opportunity to support her three children.
"I’m going to work really hard, there’s 45-plus jobs out here, and I know I’m liable to get at least one," Bass said.
Bass said she'll take just about any job if it means she can afford child care for her kids.
"I’m just trying to find a job so I can handle it all because people don’t understand having children is so much work, you have to do so much, so it’s really hard," Bass said.
Organizers say the job fair had an excellent turnout. Some, like Alyssandra Roberts, left the event with a new job title in hand.
Roberts said her new job as an HR specialist at Worlds of Fun takes a weight off her and her husband's shoulders.
"Back to two incomes and being stable again, it gives us a sense of normalcy back to how it was before COVID," Roberts said.
Roberts said it's been challenging scheduling job interviews while battling and recovering from COVID-19.
Some businesses are offering incentives to workers, such as sign-on bonuses.
Jordan Oakley with the First Student Bus Company said some locations are currently offering referral bonuses until the end of the month. Oakley said the company also offers paid training for employees and a competitive wage.
Oakley said the pandemic highlighted the nationwide bus driver shortage when schools began to reopen at smaller capacities.
"I think most of our locations were able to cover a bare minimum of routes if everyone showed up to work that day, so it leaves you with a lot less wiggle room," Oakley said.