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Looking For A Job? Many Massachusetts Businesses Are Hiring

WALPOLE (CBS) - There are so many job vacancies right now, the shops and restaurants at Patriots Place had a job fair Wednesday in hopes of attracting applicants.

With the economy inching back to normalcy, many businesses are doing well, but they're having trouble finding workers.

Some blame the government's extended unemployment benefits. "In many cases, you're talking about recipients getting $1,100 per week to stay on UI," said Jon Hurst of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts. "For a lot of folks, there's a huge incentive to spend the summer at the beach."

The Charles River Apparel Company is hiring but is not always finding suitable applicants despite having 10 openings in all departments.

And on the Cape, where they're expecting a huge summer, many job vacancies are going unfilled.

"We're calling it a hiring boom because everyone is hiring," said Wendy Northcross of the Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce. She said from hospitals to hotels to shops, everyone is hiring. She notes that the cost of housing on the Cape may be keeping some potential employees off-Cape.

Even some small businesses, like Chill Juice in Walpole, are looking to hire long-term but have had to settle for student and summer hires. "We've had hiring signs up for a month now," said owner Lee Ann McCarthy.

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