Four organizations who aren’t strangers to working together: The Jefferson County Development Corporation, Chamber, Tourism, and United Way, put together this creative idea and partnered with 23 businesses for the event.

“I am bored,” said retiree Michael Neuman. “And with the financial things going on anymore with prices and stuff, I thought, well, it wouldn’t hurt to supplement my income a little bit. So, I thought, well, I saw this advertised, so I’ll come in and see what I can find.”

According to organizers, the workforce is changing, and businesses that are able to job-share can find alternatives to unfilled positions.

Kathy Lively, with MantraCon, said, it’s a nice option for both businesses and employees.

“I know lots of our employers are much more amenable today to piecing together part-time schedules,” Lively explained, “because it seems to be what some people want right now and need.”

Organizers say they really tried to think outside the box when they came up with the idea for the part-time job fair.

“We were hoping that maybe by looking for part-time employees,” explained Tony Iriti, the Executive Director of the Jefferson County Development Corporation. “It might reach that older crowd, where inflation is eating into their travel budget, and their discretionary funds.”

The goal was to reach 100 or more people with the fair. Iriti said the joint effort is to address a major problem for businesses right now…

“Workforce is the biggest issue we face in everything we do,” Iriti concluded.