Stifled as it is by the coronavirus pandemic, Rhode Island’s economy still has a pulse with some employers hiring while others are laying off workers amid the unprecedented crisis.
Some of the companies adding positions are small, such as Tom’s Market Inc. The independent grocer, which has three Rhode Island locations, has hired 15 full- and part-time workers in recent weeks.
Other companies are some of Rhode Island’s largest, such as CVS Health Corp., which has openings for 500 full-time, part-time and temporary workers in Rhode Island. The Woonsocket-based pharmacy chain has said it plans to immediately hire 50,000 people nationwide.
Providence-based United Natural Foods Inc. has 50 open positions in Providence and Lincoln.
And grocery chain Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. recently announced 5,000 open jobs spread across five states, including Rhode Island, although a company spokesman wouldn’t say how many openings are specific to the Ocean Sate.
Skills for Rhode Island’s Future, a nonprofit that helps connect job seekers with companies, is working with 13 businesses that are hiring. That’s a drop from the nonprofit’s usual line-up of about 90 employers, but some companies on its current roster are hiring in bulk.
‘I think when you look at the volume ... this is just a drop in the bucket.’
NINA PANDE, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future executive director
Of the 1,400 to 1,500 jobs the group is working to fill, about 60% are related to the coronavirus outbreak, said Nina Pande, executive director of Skills for Rhode Island’s Future.
“We’re reprioritizing our workload right now because several employers are looking for high-volume hiring,” she said.
Openings listed by SkillsRI include positions at Honeywell International Inc.’s plant in Smithfield, which made national headlines after announcing it would hire 500 employees to manufacture N95 masks to protect health care workers from COVID-19.
Among other Rhode Island companies that need more workers amid coronavirus-related demand are Lifespan Corp., CharterCARE Health Partners, Bradford Soap Works Inc., AstroNova Inc., Yushin America Inc. and Silgan Dispensing Systems Slatersville LLC. (While Lifespan is hiring, the health network also recently furloughed some employees. Less than 1% of the system’s roughly 15,000 employees were furloughed due to low hospital occupancy amid preparations for a possible surge in COVID-19 patients, according to Lifespan spokeswoman Kathleen Hart.)
As unemployment claims in the state totaled 83,075 by April 1, with 79,061 claims labeled “COVID-specific” by the R.I. Department of Labor and Training, response to the openings has been swift.
Calls from job candidates to SkillsRI, which normally total about 200 a week, are spiking. More than 100 calls came in during just one day in late March, and that week saw more than 1,000 job applications, a 340% increase from the week prior. Traffic on SkillsRI’s Facebook page has increased by more than 2,300%.
It’s hard to tell how much spark the hundreds of job openings will add to an economy that’s been stalled by the coronavirus.
“I think when you look at the volume we’re talking about versus the actual need, this is just a drop in the bucket,” Pande said.
At Tom’s Market, though, new workers are thankful to be employed, said co-owner Glenn Place.
The grocer is hoping to hire about 20 more people across its three locations, as customers, anxious to keep their home pantries full, continually empty store shelves.
Some recent arrivals work in the gig economy, and although they may still have one source of income, they’ve been laid off from other side jobs, Place said.
That renders them ineligible for unemployment but in need of more income to replace lost work. Current hiring is getting Tom’s Market the help it needs, but Place said, “We’re also trying to help those in the community who may need a job.”