Tenneco isn’t alone. The unemployment rate in Montgomery County in May was 3.6 percent, according to the latest state numbers.
That’s up a bit from 3.2 percent in April, but still better than 4.1 percent in May 2018.
In fact, the biggest struggle for local employers has been finding qualified people willing to work.
“Most of our customers — manufacturing and logistics — are still in a hiring mode,” said Tom Maher, who owns the Dayton-area Manpower Group staffing franchise.
But he added: “There are fewer openings to fill. The manufacturers appear to be meeting demand from their customers who are building inventories.”
Maher speculated that those customers are beefing up inventories with an eye on the impact of U.S. tariffs against China and other nations.
Still, he said, times are good.
“I have been in the ‘finding jobs for people and people for jobs business’ for 40-plus years and have not seen a more lengthy period of demand for workers,” Maher said.
According to new state data, hospitals lead area employers in advertising online for applicants and recruits.
Kettering Health Network posted 729 online job ads April 14 through May 13, the most recent data available. That makes the hospital system the most aggressive job advertiser for the region, at least on the Internet.
“As Kettering Health Network continues to grow to meet the needs of the communities we serve, we must continue to expand our workforce,” Tim Dutton, chief human resources officer for Kettering Health Network, said in an email. “A strong labor market locally and statewide means that we are competing with other health providers for talented candidates.”
Tenneco is planning a career fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. July 20 at its 2555 Woodman Drive factory.
The global manufacturer seeks to fill entry-level manufacturing operator positions as well as skilled-trades jobs including: tool-makers, CNC (computer numeric control machine ) operators, paint machine operators, electricians and more.
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Tonya Dyer, Tenneco-Kettering human resources manager, said the plant has about 525 workers now. Its goal is to have 780 workers.
Starting pay will range from $14.66 an hour to $29.42 for skilled-trades jobs, and benefits coverage begins on the first day of employment, Dyer said.
Before attending the jobs fair, the company asks applicants to register at jobs.tenneco.com.
The plant at 2555 Woodman used to be a Delphi plant. Early in the Great Recession, the future looked uncertain at best for the facility.
But there were signs of life.
In June 2008, Lake Forest, Ill.-based Tenneco leased about 40 percent of the Woodman Drive plant from Delphi.
Then in the summer of 2012, Southern Calif.-based Industrial Realty Group (IRG) bought the plant from Delphi.
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By August 2012, IRG Principal Stu Lichter said that IRG was negotiating with Tenneco on a long-term lease commitment for the Woodman-Forrer Boulevard plant.
Tenneco made a permanent home in the facility, and last October, the company announced that it will nearly double its Kettering workforce, adding 400 jobs as part of a $61.5 million investment that significantly expands the plant.
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