Derrick: Introducing Mainstreet’s job board 

Now hiring sign
A now hiring sign at Wendy's in Gainesville.
Photo by C.J. Gish

A goal of ours at Mainstreet Daily News is to be a connector in the community—connecting readers to information, customers to businesses, and people to events and causes. We want to help fill gaps.  

One gap that has grown locally in recent years is between employers and employees. The U.S. population grew 2.7% between 2016 and 2021, but the Gainesville metro area grew by 22.4% in the same period.  

Gainesville-area economic growth has also been robust during that time, but employers and employees do not always find each other as quickly as needed—for either those in search of employment or for the businesses and organizations looking for them. 

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Eric Godet, president of the Greater Gainesville Chamber of Commerce, knows this better than anyone. This week he told me the number of open jobs in the greater Gainesville area stood at 13,498 as of Monday. 

“The growth is exponential,” Godet said. “We’re seeing record growth for a lot of our companies. We had one hire like 130 people last year.” 

This growing need for talent is what prompted our team to spend the last few months building a solution to meet the moment. We are pleased to announce the launch of the Mainstreet Daily News job board, a custom-built system we hope will serve both employers and those looking for work.  

Job-seekers can peruse the postings by scrolling through them all or searching by position, industry, or company. Each post will include information on the position and direct potential applicants to either submit an inquiry or go to a website to apply.  

For employers, the system is designed for easy, self-serve use with affordable listings for 30 days and the option to upgrade to a featured job. Larger employers can email jobs@mainstreetdailynews.com for a custom quote on a bundle of listings.  

We hope you will check out mainstreetdailynews.com/jobs to explore this new tool. Whether you’re an employer, someone looking for work, or someone who knows someone looking for work, we believe it will be useful to many in the community.  

Dozens of jobs are already in the system, and we’re working with several other employers who plan to join soon.  

According to Godet, the biggest three employers in the area are the education, healthcare and biotech industries. But other businesses are thriving as well.  

“You’re seeing our region become more of a hub for our surrounding communities,” Godet told me. “People come here not only to work, but to eat and dine and play.”  

As an example, Godet cited the recent news that Gainesville has the nation’s No. 2 Sephora store. 

“You’re seeing us become a hit with retailers,” Godet said.  

He said companies have filled many positions, but demand is outpacing supply: “That’s the only thing holding some of these companies back—talent.” 

We hope the Mainstreet job board will do its part to help solve that.  

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