Apr. 7—GROTON — More than 250 jobseekers and scores of employers' representatives crowded a conference room at the Mystic Marriott Hotel and Spa on Wednesday, participants in an energetic job fair that suggested the local economy is stirring.
At the very least, the event — sponsored by The Day — demonstrated plenty of jobs are available.
Jaclyn Nardone, The Day's marketing manager, said the 53 employers represented at the fair were the most she's seen in eight years of organizing the semiannual events. She said she typically expects between 250 and 350 jobseekers, depending on the job market.
Over the years, the number of jobseekers has declined, a trend Nardone couldn't quite explain.
"I will say that in more recent years the crowd has been on the older side," she wrote in an email. "I'm not sure if that indicates that the younger generations would prefer to use social media and LinkedIn to find jobs."
Christian Horstmann, an unemployed Lisbon resident with a background in marketing, made stops at several of the employers' booths, including those manned by representatives of Mohegan Sun, Sheffield Pharmaceuticals of New London and Carwild Corp., a New London-based manufacturer of medical devices, which he said he definitely planned to follow up with.
"It's a half-hour from where I live, the pay's decent," he said.
Horstmann said he's been out of work "since a year into COVID," and had recently gotten married and moved from Philadelphia to Connecticut. His wife works in the arts in Lyme.
"I thought I should put a tie on and come here," he said, having seen ads for the job fair. "If I end up with something completely different (than marketing) and that pays less money, that's OK. I need to work."
Tamela Higgins, a human resources manager at Chelsea Groton Bank, said Wednesday's turnout of jobseekers far exceeded the number at a job fair in the fall.
"People are more comfortable," she said, without hazarding a guess as to why.
By noon, by which time the fair was two hours old, Chelsea Groton representatives had spoken to a half-dozen candidates, three of whom were potential hires, Higgins said.
Chelsea Groton has openings for tellers — as always, Higgins said — as well as in all other departments, including accounting, commercial lending and loan servicing. Multiple internships also are available.
Higgins said Chelsea Groton, like many other employers, has experienced "a lot" of resignations in the last couple of years for all kinds of reasons, including retirements, relocations and moves to new jobs in and out of banking.