Geisinger Community Medical Center officials came to Wednesday's Great Northeast Job Fair with pages of printouts listing job openings.
"There's a significant shortage of medical technologists," Phyllis Lynady, a human resources executive at GCMC, said as legions of job-seekers made their way through St. Mary's Center in downtown Scranton. "We have professional positions as well as entry-level positions. It runs the gamut."
More than 60 companies set up booths at the 13th annual job fair against a backdrop of continuing high unemployment. The region's jobless rate was 9.4 percent in August, the highest in the state for the 29th consecutive month.
Organizers expected turnout to exceed last year's of more than 2,000.
At least 14 health and human services companies had booths at the event, along with seven finance and insurance firms and six employment and staffing operations.
But there also were manufacturers, retailers, transportation and warehousing companies and service businesses seeking job applicants.
The high unemployment and tepid economy make the climate rough for job seekers, said Susan Branley, Dickson City office manager for Manpower, a job-placement firm.
"Employers are being very picky," Ms. Branley said. "If people don't have an internship or experience, they probably aren't going to get hired."
Recent college graduate Amanda Torch, 22, of Blakely, took a break from filling out a job application as she sat along a wall of the Mifflin Avenue banquet and meeting facility. She works part-time for a Lackawanna County government agency, but wants a full-time position with a social service agency.
"I want to work with kids," said Ms. Torch, who earned a psychology degree from Bloomsburg University in the spring. "It's hard to find stuff that I can actually do."
GCMC has an abundance of things to do. The hospital is seeking nurses, medical technology specialists and workers in its finance, food service and maintenance departments, Mrs. Lynady said.
Opportunities in manufacturing have improved in recent months after the region's production sector shed thousands of jobs during the recession. Regional manufacturing employment increased in five of the last six months, state data show.
"Business is great," said Lenore Khoubesserian, human resources director at Hendrick Manufacturing, which makes perforated metal products in Carbondale.
Hendrick, which employs about 100 people, is seeking machinists, and the company has received plenty of applications, Ms. Khoubesserian said.
"There's so many people out of work right now," she said.
The job fair was hosted by The Times-Tribune and The Citizens' Voice and sponsored by GCMC and TJ Maxx.
Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com