Looking for a job? How to find open positions, employment agencies in Columbus area
Georgia’s federal coronavirus benefits have come to an end, and although unemployment rates in the Columbus area dropped in May, many residents may still be on the job hunt.
As the benefit cutoff window approached, local Spherion employment agency franchise owner Michael Chalmers said he saw a slight uptick in the number of people looking for job placement.
“There’s a lot of things out there that are competing,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “There are a lot of jobs available. A lot of employers that have jobs available have increased wages and (done) different things to try to attract people.”
The unemployment rate in the Columbus metro area — which includes Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion and Muscogee counties in Georgia and Russell County in Alabama — was at 4.2% in May, down from 9.4% the same time last year, according to Georgia Department of Labor data. But the city of Columbus saw its labor force drop by 787 people last month, ending May with 122,067.
If you’re looking for a job in Columbus, here are a few sources to check out:
Job boards and websites
- Employ Georgia: Employ Georgia, the state labor department’s online job listing service, allows users to search for a variety of jobs by metro area or zip code. Users can create an account and upload a resume. As of Tuesday, there were 197 jobs listed for the Columbus metro area.
- Columbus Consolidated Government jobs: The City of Columbus is looking to hire folks as well. You can reach their job website from the city’s human resources page or by visiting https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/columbusga. The website lists 95 available jobs as of June 29.
- ZipRecruiter: Websites like ZipRecruiter allow users to search for and apply to jobs in the area. You can filter by salary amount, employment types, titles and companies. More than 5,571 jobs within five miles of Columbus are listed on ZipRecruiter’s website. Other popular job websites include Indeed, Simply Hired, Monster and Glassdoor.
Employment agencies
Want more personalized help? Employment agencies match potential employees with employers. Some offer placement in specialized services, so research the company before applying.
There are several with offices in the Columbus area:
Spherion: 6440 W Hamilton Park Road, 706-956-5152
Labor Finders Columbus: 4400 2nd Avenue, 706-660-9911
PeopleReady: 2301 Airport Thruway, 706-323-4832
EmployMeStaffing: 1435 54th Street, 706-221-7590
Staffing Connections: 5629 Princeton Avenue, 706-324-1910
SURGE Staffing: 5592 Whitesville Road, 706-350-7015 (Phenix City location: 2018 US-280)
Kelly Services: 5650 Whitesville Road, 706-321-0444
Staff Zone: 3087 Victory Drive, 706-324-1780
Manpower: 1648 Whittlesey Road, 706-596-1313
Sizemore Inc.: 4 Bradley Park Court, 706-649-7174
Phenix City Career Center at Chattahoochee Valley Community College: 2602 College Drive, 334-214-4828
WorkSource Lower Chattahoochee (420 10th St.) also offers training and career services to residents in Muscogee, Harris, Talbot, Chattahoochee, Stewart, Randolph, Quitman, and Clay counties.
Spherion primarily matches potential employees with call centers, customer service and manufacturing logistics. Most of the company’s jobs are temporary with the opportunity to become full-time.
Chalmers, the local franchise owner, said it’s important for employees to be on time and commit. Applicants should communicate with companies if they receive a better job offer elsewhere. You don’t want to ruin that relationship, he said.
“I don’t think we could have ever thought that once the unemployment went away ... everything would be back to normal,” he said. “It’s going to take some time.”
This story was originally published June 30, 2021 at 6:00 AM.