TAMPA BAY AREA, Fla. — While many businesses across the Tampa Bay area are having to cut hours and lay people off due to the coronavirus outbreak, other businesses are booming. That’s creating a lot of jobs for those who suddenly find themselves without one.
Rich Williams with Career Experts in St. Petersburg says many employers are cutting staff out of fear for what the future could bring.
“We’ve had a number of our clients release all their temps, which are our employees, because they don’t know what the future holds,” said Williams.
Career Source Tampa Bay says their calls from people looking for jobs has jumped by 250% just in the last week.
But not all businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Some businesses need the help now, more than ever.
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“We are over-staffing jobs right now to make sure we have people on call, on stand-by,” said Wade Swikle, President of 2 College Brothers Moving and Storage.
2 College Brothers Moving Inc., with a location right here in Tampa, says while many businesses are halting, people are still moving.
“We have not, so far, fingers crossed, seen a slow-down in business,” said Swikle.
Another line of work not hurting for business, is delivery teams and grocery stores.
Domino’s Pizza is looking for additional delivery drivers, and delivery services like InstaCart, and Uber Eats are also looking to get more people behind the wheel.
Grocery stores and gas stations like Walmart, Aldi, Costco and Thorntons also need help stocking shelves, assisting with crowd control, cleaning and organizing social distancing.
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Those who provide stock for the grocery stores, trucking businesses, are also hiring across the nation. U.S. Xpress, one of the nation’s largest truckload carriers, is looking to hire Class A CDL Drivers.
They say, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of truck drivers is more important than ever. The U.S. Xpress fleet of over 6,500 professional drivers is hard at work ensuring America’s shelves are stocked with the essentials that millions of families rely on. We’re actively recruiting Class A CDL Drivers to maintain our fleet. In particular, we’re welcoming drivers who have been affected by the recent trucking industry layoffs and trying to onboard them as quickly as possible.”
And Amazon announced they’re looking to fill 100,000 jobs in the United States, with openings, right here in Tampa.
While some of these positions are temporary, they’re there to get you by until this is over.
“This is like when a hurricane comes, everybody is miserable, then after, the economy booms because everybody is back to work and they’re behind now,” said Williams.