NATCHEZ — Attention, job seekers! The Miss-Lou is hiring.

Miss-Lou economic development officials say more than 50 jobs are currently available in the area, and in some cases, industry leaders say they are having a difficult time finding the right people to fill the positions.

The openings coincide with a 3.8-percent unemployment rate, which is among the lowest national unemployment rates in decades.

The local job openings, economic leaders say, range from fulltime entry-level positions, such as grinders at Great River Industries, to highly skilled positions, such as a part-time psychiatrist position open at Adams County Correctional facility.

“There are 50 jobs available out there right now,” said Chandler Russ, Executive Director of Natchez, Inc. “All of these jobs can range from $35,000 to $80,000 with benefits.”

Looming over the current job openings are an anticipated 300-plus jobs soon to come open later this year with Vidalia Denim expected to get into operation this summer, Russ said.

“If you know people who are looking for work and want to come to our area for work, let them know,” Russ said.

Natchez, Inc., Russ said, is working to get the word out about job openings through media advertising in the local market and beyond and through social media pushes.

“What you hear is that people are not aware that some of those jobs are out there,” Russ said. “The first thing is to make everybody aware that there are jobs out there and available and good jobs out there.”

Not only do the job openings mean a loss of productivity for the employers, Russ said, the openings also mean a loss of income for the entire Miss-Lou.

“We’re missing an additional $2.5 million in annual payroll from our economy,” Russ said, “and figure in the turnover of those dollars and leakage in the local economy and we’re losing about $10 million in annual impact.”

Great River Industries

Great River Industries, which specializes in metal fabrication to order for various industrial needs, including engineering and constructing fabricated steel plate products such as storage tanks and pressure vessels, currently has 10 openings.

Great River’s current open positions are for welders and other entry-level positions, company officials said, and the company anticipates more openings in the near future.

“Mostly it is all going to be shop employees,” said Kevin Sullivan, vice president of operations for Great River Industries, “welders, grinders, fitters and helpers, working out in the shop with the metal fabrication.”

Great River is currently in the midst of a $2 million expansion at its 21 Moran location near the Natchez-Adams County Port.

Great River Industries current openings, Sullivan said, include helpers, who need no prior experience.

“They learn just working out there and of course they are the lower paid of the bunch,” Sullivan said. “Then we have welders. The more experienced they are the more money they will make.”

Sullivan said he anticipates hiring as many as 20 men and women to work in the shop in the coming months.

Great River has not had much difficulty filling open positions in the past, Sullivan said.

“We will get guys who need some training, and we’ll bring them in,” Sullivan said. “We will teach them a few things and get them where we need them in order to meet all our specs and job requirements for our customers. When we get brand new guys, we will put a grinder in their hand and let them be a helper and usually those are the best employees. They end up learning how to weld, because they don’t want to grind anymore and work their way up.”

Sullivan said anyone interested in applying for open positions at Great River Industries should go to the company’s website at greatriver360.com and fill out an online job application, or go to the company’s headquarters at 21 Moran Road, Natchez, during business hours.

Delta Energy

Delta Energy, a resource recovery company providing recycling solutions to the tire industry currently has approximately 10 openings, said John Rollins, manager of business development.

“We have been an employer in the last several years,” said Rollins of the company, located on Carthage Point Road at the former International Paper Natchez mill site. “Our requirements for personnel are growing. The jobs range from — we do our own security to shipping and receiving, and material handling. So, we’ve got a wide variety of job openings, and we are looking for people who want to contribute and grow with us.”

Rollins said Delta Energy has seen much growth in the past 18 months and has not had much trouble in hiring people.

Current openings, he said, include a general manager and quality, environmental and safety control positions.

“You have people of all ages who have come to work for us, and we’ve been pleased with it,” Rollins said. “We’re about 46 or 47 on the payroll now, and I think we’ve got four or five operators’ jobs and hire those through the Win Jobs Center. We’re supporters of Work Keys, when that first started some years ago and found it to be a reliable correlation between those tests and our skill requirements.”

Half of Delta Energy’s current openings, Rollins said, are operator jobs, which range from no experience to some experience.

“The other half are for more skilled, mostly educational background,” Rollins said, “where they have done automation of plants, instrumentation controls and have the ability to maintain, install and calibrate equipment, environmental procedures and testing safety and other responsibilities that an employer has any kind of a manufacturing operation.”

Adams County Correctional Center

When people are looking for a job, they don’t always think to consider the prison facility located at 20 Hobo Fork Road off of U.S. 84 in Natchez, said Tangela Sullivan, executive assistant at the center.

Tangela Sullivan said the center currently has many openings including shift supervisors, nurses and a part-time psychiatrist.

“There is always something open out here,” Tangela Sullivan said. “We’re not sure exactly what jobs will be open or for how long they will be open, but there are some that are harder to fill than others.”

Tangela Sullivan said representatives of the correctional center meet quarterly with community leaders to let them know about the jobs open at the facility.

“We bring up the jobs that are opening in case they know anyone in the community that may be interested, because some people might not even think to reach out to the prison,” Tangela Sullivan said. “They may not think that we have those jobs available out here. That’s why we try to reach out through Natchez, Inc. and some of the community leaders in case they know someone they can ask them to apply.”

People interested in applying for positions at Adams County Correctional Center, Tangela Sullivan said, can find openings at Core Civic, the parent company’s website, at www.corecivcjobs.com .

Below is a list of some of the jobs available in the Miss-Lou and how to apply, compiled by Natchez, Inc.:

Adams County

• Great River Industries: 10 job opening for welders. Hiring for those positions will take place over the next two months and anticipation of other openings. Applicants can apply either online greatriver360.com or at the facility, 21 Moran Road.
• Delta Energy: General Manager; Quality Control Director; Logistics Manager

EH&S Compliance Director; IT Director; Inventory Control Specialist; Floor Operations. Submit resume and introductory letter to natchezjob2019@gmail.com or apply at may apply at the Win Job Center, 107 Col John Pitchford Parkway, Natchez.

• CoreCivic, which operates the Adams County Correctional facility: 1-Administrative Clerk; 1-Assistant Shift Supervisor; 1-Chaplain; 1-Commissary Supervisor; 2-Correctional Counselor; 10-Correctional Officers; 1-Dentist; 1-Human Resources Assistant; 1-Licensed Practical Nurse (PRN); 1-Psychiatrist, P/T; 1-Recreation Coordinator; 1-Registered Nurse (PRN); 2-Shift Supervisor; 1-Sr Correctional Officer; 1-Unit Manager; 1-X-Ray Technician. To apply, visit CoreCivic’s website at corecivicjobs.com
• VonDrehle Corporation: two electricians and two controls technicians. Pick up applications at the plant, 30 Majorca Rd., Natchez.
• JM Jones Lumber Co: Various positions are open and people can fill out an application at their facility, 1 Jones Sawmill Road, Natchez.
• Jones Companies: 2 general labor jobs available and 1 fork lift job available. People can fill out applications at Jones Companies office, 33 Vaughn Drive, Natchez.
• Merit Health Natchez: Applicants can see all current jobs available online at merithealthnatchez.com and “Careers” to view available jobs and apply online.

Concordia Parish

• Syrah Technologies: company is still taking resumes at the facility at 2001 D.A. Biglane, Vidalia.
• BASF: has an opening for a maintenance group leader and pack/ship operator, visit jobpostings.basf.us/jobs/?location=LA to apply.
• Riverland Medical Center: All available jobs are listed on riverlandmedical.com, future applicants can apply through their website.