There is a hiring frenzy underway around Northeast Ohio — and across much of the country.
The national jobless rate is at 17-year-low and the economy’s upward trend is reassuring for many businesses, big and small.
Everyone from major corporations to mom-and-pop shops are searching for workers with “Now Hiring” signs dotting windows across Greater Cleveland.
Progressive Insurance is hiring 1,300 workers locally, a total of 7,500 nationally. The company is also starting a new policy this year — they won’t ask prospective employees how much they earned at previous jobs.
“So if somebody at their old employer, for example, was underpaid, we don’t want to hold them to that. We want to get them where they should be,” said recruitment manager Steve Kaczynski.
The jobs range from entry-level to experienced, including IT and analyst positions, along with customer care and sales representatives.
Michael Goldberg is an assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University. He said his students are finding openings both at growing Northeast Ohio startups and with new roles at major corporations.
“Even within some of our larger, traditional companies, there are new kinds of jobs that we didn’t even know existed in the past that our students are finding,” Goldberg said.
For Leo Gluck, who is putting the finishing touches on his new fish restaurant in University Heights, the economic boost is a major plus.
“The economy starts from the bottom up,” Gluck said. “People have money, they spend more money. I’m telling all the people I’m hiring, if you’re happy, I’m happy. It’s all circular.”
The city of Cleveland is hiring, too — Mayor Frank Jackson hoping to fill 700 open positions with his proposed 2018 budget.
The unemployment rate in Cuyahoga County is currently less than 5 percent.
