Georgia job hunters may get some good news Thursday.
Governor Nathan Deal will make a major industry announcement in the morning in Atlanta that he says will mean a significant number of good jobs for the state. Georgia has experienced three consecutive years of job losses. The state estimates 30,000 to 45,000 new jobs will be created this year.
MillerCoors representatives said they are hiring for specific positions, but expect 60 percent of their workforce to turn over in the next three years because of retirement and they say people interested in the jobs are lining up already.
Forty-nine employers were at Albany Tech's Spring Career Fair, but not all of them had jobs to offer. The construction industry's collapse which led to much of Georgia's economic problems continues to suffer.
"Unfortunately there's nothing that we can do about that, we just keep our fingers crossed that the economy is going to turn around and more work will come our way," said Courtney Greenway, Metro Power.
Metro Power didn't have any electrical contract work to offer. It was the same situation with the Albany Fire Department, who just filled a dozen position and are at full staff.
"We never know when they're going to retire. I think since we hired some guys out of training we might have had one or two guys retire since then, so we're constantly looking for good folks," said Assistant Chief Sebon Burns, Albany Fire Department.
The more we dug we found out Georgia ranks 39th in per capita income, making the state a haven for low wage jobs and unemployment. There is some good news on the manufacturing front, MillerCoors has open positions here in Albany and about 150 nationwide if people are willing to relocate.
"We have some reliability engineers, some asset car planning positions, we don't have any production positions open at this time, it's not to say that weren't going to some time in the future," said Karen Schneider of MillerCoors.
That's because MillerCoors is seeing four to five retirements a month and will continue to see that trend grow over the next three years. They say they're looking for workers with computer and high tech skills.
"They have to have that mechanical capability," said Schneider.
The Georgia Department of Corrections is also hiring correctional officers, they'll hold a recruitment session Monday at Lee State Prison for jobs throughout southwest Georgia. Governor Deal has said his top priority is creating jobs in Georgia and he says growth and stability in the job market is going to have to come from private business.
Those interested in jobs at MillerCoors are directed to their web site, you can find the information at www.millercoors.com.
Industries that have seen job growth recently include health care, manufacturing, business services, and leisure and hospitality. Governor Deal is headed to England and Germany this weekend looking for new industries and job growth opportunities.
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