City having a hard time filling vacant positions

The city with the highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin is having a hard time finding people to hire.

Terry Parker, Racine's human resource manager, asked the city's Finance Committee for an additional $14,900 to advertise for open positions in the city.

The extra money is needed to advertise for openings caused by an unprecedented number of retirements, including jobs that require a high degree of education.

Barker said the city has advertised for a director of community health programs for the past two weeks, but has only received one application. A city assessor's positions has been advertised for three weeks and only received four applications, Barker said.

The Finance Committee did not vote on the proposal, telling Barker to come back in the fall if he's not been able to cover the advertising expense.

After the meeting, Barker noted the disparity among job types. A position like a civil engineer receives few applicants, while clerical or public works positions receive over 100 people applicants per opening.