The job search days started Sunday, March 20, and will run through Wednesday, March 23 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Participating businesses will have a poster in their window indicating that they are participating in the job search event. Those businesses, along with their job openings, are also listed on the LPBA’s website at https://lakeplacidbusinessassociation.com/jobs.

LPBA member Linda Moore said the idea of the event is for people to approach participating businesses during these days and be able to talk to a hiring manager or person in charge. She said some places might interview prospective employees on the spot. Businesses have open positions that need to be filled both immediately and for the summer, Moore said, adding that she knew of “quite a few” businesses in dire need of staff right now.

Participating businesses include Bass; Bear Essentials Apparel; Beef Jerky Outlet; The Breakfast Club; Crowne Plaza; Emma’s Lake Placid Creamery; Eastern Mountain Sports; Generations Tap and Grill; Golden Arrow; The Haus; KOA Lake Placid/Whiteface and Wilmington/North Pole/Santa’s Workshop; Lake Placid Pub and Brewery; Little Blue House; Mirror Lake Inn; NBT Bank; Placid Bay Hotel; Placid Planet; Price Chopper; Quantum Apparel; Ruthie’s Run; Sparkle; Starbucks and Whiteface Lodge.

Moore co-owns Bear Essentials and Quantum Apparel with her husband. She said that they don’t have an immediate need for staff there, but she’s been seeing other business owners and managers struggling. Moore said she met with local business runners Christine Crosby, who manages Starbucks, and Amy Hajrulla, of Two Harts and Little Blue House, to create the job search days. She said Crosby and Hajrulla have needed staff for months, and Starbucks has had to cut down on its hours of operation in the past to accommodate the shortage. Moore said it seems like people aren’t available for work, or people apply for a job and don’t show up for interviews.

Moore described the current staffing crisis as “weird” — different from anything she’s experienced as a business owner even two to five years ago, before the pandemic. She said a lot of businesses in Lake Placid had to adjust their hours last summer, and business owners around town are wondering if the same will happen this year.

“We can’t invent the people,” Moore said.

Businesses are looking for different ways to try and drum up employment interest. They’re reaching out to local high schools to find students who might need summer jobs, and Moore knows of a lot of businesses that are willing to collaborate with each other in the case that they share an employee who needs two jobs.

“Now we just need the job seekers to show up,” she said.