Unemployment is sky high, but some Kamloops, Okanagan jobs still available

How does controlling shoppers outside a supermarket and making sure they form an orderly line-up sound? If you have a high school diploma and can make sure customers practice "appropriate social etiquette," a company in Vernon will pay $20 an hour for the right candidate.

The job ad says "helping to maintain order in a line" outside stores is the number one responsibility for the temporary position at the unnamed store.

The job is one of many recently advertised on job sites. A quick search shows multiple positions from cleaners and care home workers to bakery staff and bankers.

Statistics Canada released figures April 9 stating that one million Canadians lost their jobs at the onset of the COVID-19 in March and there have been more than five million applications for federal aid. B.C Finance Minister Carole James said B.C.'s unemployment figure, at 7.2 per cent, doesn’t come close to telling the whole story.

But there are still jobs are up for grabs.

Vernon based fish food company Piscine Energetics is advertising for multiple seasonal staff. The work can be dirty and the hours long, with shifts starting at 2 a.m. and stretching 12 hours or more.

"Can get covered in shrimp juices," says the ad.

Several long-term care homes have vacancies for staff, and even in the current climate, the ads have no reference to COVID-19.

A casual cleaning job advertised by Interior Health says the temporary position has no guaranteed hours and work can vary from zero to 37.5 hours per week. There is no salary listed and no mention of the current pandemic.

Not all job ads skirt around the issue though and one ad for a Kelowna security guard keeps it simple.

"Security Guard required for retail stores to welcome and control social distances," is all the ad says.

Fast-food restaurants, gas stations, convenience stores and supermarkets appear to be short-staffed, as do garden centres and hardware stores. Various ads seek general labourers for construction sites.

While the vast majority of jobs advertised are for low paid and unskilled work, some anomalies do still stick out.

B.C. firm Shadow Investigations is advertising for a part-time private investigator in Kelowna. The job pays $35 an hour and applicants must have a valid B.C. private investigation license.

Interior Health is advertising for an autopsy attendant to join their Pathology department.

"We anticipate you to be someone who has a respectful disposition, who would possess the skills and attributes needed to perform the duties and responsibilities of the position in the morgue environment, which can be a very sensitive and challenging area," reads the job ad.

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