Coronavirus will put people out of work. These North Texas businesses are hiring
Not all Texas businesses are hurting in the time of novel coronavirus-related shutdowns.
State and local mandates aimed at curbing the spread of the new virus have forced the closure of dine-in restaurants, bars, theaters and non-essential retail businesses. But in Fort Worth, and across the country, some industries are plucking along at a healthy pace — and hiring.
Grocery stores like Walmart and Albertsons have announced major hiring initiatives along side Amazon. That could be good news from service industry folks looking for a new gig.
Pia Orrenius, a senior economist at the Dallas Federal Reserve, said she’s not overly optimistic about the economy for the next few months, but flexible labor markets in Texas will likely help the region weather an economic downturn.
Orrenius related an anecdote about a man she talked to Thursday who was a waiter at two restaurants. He lost both jobs, but immediately found one with Amazon.
This sort of fluidity will be vital, she said.
“That’s one good thing we have in Texas,” she said. “It helps someone move from one industry to the next”
The Dallas Federal Reserve surveys business to gauge the health of industries. A coronavirus-related survey is expected to be completed next week, she said, so more will be known about the health and anxiety of the North Texas economy then.
But it’s clear the medical supply industry is the most likely to weather a coronavirus-related downturn.
Any company that makes, or can make, medical-grade masks, gowns and related supplies will have high-demand products, Orrenius said, calling sales “off the charts.” Prestige Ameritech of North Richland Hills is the largest provider of surgical masks in the United States.
Grocery stores, looking to serve increased demand from coronavirus-worried shoppers, are providing the bulk of the part-time and temporary jobs.
Albertsons and Tom Thumb stores are hiring for nearly 3,000 positions in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, regional spokeswoman Christy Lara said. With the increase in online orders, drivers and order pickers are in high demand, but the stores are hiring across departments.
Most of the jobs are temporary but some positions can become permanent.
“Maybe you have another job you anticipate going back to but in the meantime you need a temporary position — we have those,” Lara said.
The company has an average of 30 open positions at each store in DFW, she said. Typically applications are done online, but the demand is so high for workers that interested applicants should go to their closest store to apply.
Walmart said in a statement Thursday that it would hire 150,000 workers across the country. To fast-track the process, the normal two-week application process was cut to 24 hours. The company anticipates hiring as many as 15,000 workers in Texas, including 1,000 fulfillment center in Fort Worth, according to an email
The company’s job site, careers.walmart.com, showed nine new jobs posted this week.
In addition to hiring, Walmart’s hourly employees will receive a bonus — $300 for full-time associates, $150 for part-time — to be paid out April 2. Hourly associates employed as of March 1, and still employed as of March 24, qualify.
San Antonio-based H-E-B said in a Twitter thread posted Friday that the company would boost pay by $2 an hour. The grocery store chain posted new part-time jobs Sunday for positions across the state, including North Texas.
Distribution jobs will also be in demand, Orrenius said.
Amazon this week said it would add 100,000 jobs in the United States and pay employees an extra $2 an hour through April. Nearly 6,000 jobs will come to Texas, the company said in an email.
Amazon operates a regional air hub at Alliance Airport in north Fort Worth and has plans to open a distribution center at DFW Airport. As many as 3,000 jobs could be coming the DFW-area.
This story was originally published March 23, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
