Hiring Continues in Pandemic

Health care, construction, manufacturing, information technology and government were among the economic sectors that kept hiring or that saw hiring resume over time during the s…

The coronavirus pandemic may have doused the overall economy with cold water, but that doesn’t mean your job search has to stop. Companies are still hiring if you look closely enough.

Health care, construction, manufacturing, information technology and government were among the economic sectors that kept hiring through the pandemic or that saw hiring resume over time, said Teri Sand, business services manager for Capital Area Michigan Works in Lansing.

“Almost every industry is hiring to some degree,” Sand said. “Health care stereotypically can’t get enough people fast enough,” even during healthier times.

Fathy Shetiah, who owns Biggby Coffee franchises in the Lansing area and elsewhere in Michigan and Ohio, has hired around 30 baristas and managers since the pandemic started taking hold: a mix of replacements for workers concerned about working during a pandemic and other new hires. The hires are a leap of faith and logic that better times are ahead.

“It’s hope and a lot of prayers that things will get back to normal,” Shetiah said.

Domino’s Pizza franchises in and around Lansing owned by Eric Arntson have added about 60 new workers.

“We knew it was going to become more difficult to deliver and difficult to make pizzas, so I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t overworking my current team members,” he said.

Sand said the environment has changed the unwritten rules of hiring a bit.

“An employer has to be open and bluntly communicating with their candidates as well as their employees about what they’ve already done to make their workplace safe, what they’re in the process of doing and to make it clear that they’re open to their employees for feedback for additional suggestions: What’s going to make you feel safe in the workplace?” Sand said.