More than 10,000 people in Iredell County are crossing their fingers and hoping that a human resources manager somewhere will call up and offer them a job interview.
The county's unemployment rate was at 12.9 percent in May. The limping economy left few vacancies in the local job market, and the phone calls seem to rarely come.
Local human resource managers and temporary agencies said the number of applications they receive for a single job is overwhelming.
On the other hand, it's allowed them to become selective and get the best of the best.
"Right now, it's an employer market," said Ann Ellenburg, manager of Kelly Services in Statesville.
Employers aren't just getting the skills they are looking for, she said. They are getting applicants with years of experience and extra qualifications.
The number of people looking for jobs is unreal, said Ellenburg, who has been with Kelly Services for 20 years. She doesn't remember the last recession being so drastic.
A year ago, the agency was scrambling to find people to fill the available positions. Last month, it took around 50 applications a week before turning job seekers away.
Beth Phillips, Kewaunee Scientific Corp.'s vice president of human resources, said the laboratory furniture manufacturer has seen a tremendous increase in the number of applications for its office administration staff.
"As far as the number of resume submissions, I've never seen anything like it," Phillips said. "It kind of runs the gamut. You can tell by the resume submissions that people are desperately looking for jobs."
Iredell-Statesville Schools Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Dale Ellis said the number of resumes and applications the school district received during this year's recruiting season nearly doubled to more than 700.
Ellis said I-SS hasn't undergone the drastic staffing cuts plaguing some other districts, such as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
A lot of the incoming resumes are from teachers let go from nearby districts, who have master's degrees and/or national board certification, he said.
"It's been an interesting year to say the least," Ellis said. "It makes you feel good about the pool."
I-SS is in a holding pattern until the N.C. General Assembly finalizes the state budget, he said. In the meantime, the district has cataloged the resumes in terms of subject to have them on hand in case the funding does come through.
"Whenever they tell us, 'Here is your final budget,' we are ready to go," he said.
Lowe's Co. spokeswoman Maureen Rich said the company usually gets around 2,000 applications when it announces a new location.
The average Lowe's has around 175 jobs, she said.
"There certainly seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for it," Rich said. "We are seeing an increased interest with the economy the way it is."
While experience in the trade industry is a plus, it's not necessary, Rich said. Lowe's wants to assemble the best customer service team possible, she said.
Ellenburg said employers are being smart about the entire situation. While they do have the upper hand in having the job, they don't want employees to leave once the economy improves for an extra 25 cents an hour.
Phillips said the volume of applications does increase the workload for human resources staffs.
Like Ellenburg, Phillips said some of the potential hires are overqualified for the position. Some of them are under qualified.
"We have been able to select some great candidates for our selection," she said.
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