When you go bowling, it’s usually all about the games and the food. But in Cherokee county, it may also be about the job openings.
According to an analysis by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of the 2016 County Business Patterns data from the U.S. Census Bureau released on last week, bowling centers offer the hottest jobs in Cherokee.
The analysis was limited to include jobs that hired at least 15 employees. Some jobs — which did not include the number of employees are withheld by the Census for privacy or because of technical issues — were not included on the list.
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While bowling centers taking the top spot for hot jobs in the county may come as a surprise to some, Scott Harris, the corporate marketing director for the Stars and Strikes Family Entertainment Center in Woodstock, does not find it much of a shock.
“We have hired a lot more people, particularly younger adults,” said Harris. “They just want somewhere fun to work. They don’t want to go to some boring office job.”
Between 2015 and 2016, bowling centers saw a 256.8 percent increase in employment. Harris believes this will continue to be a trend as bowling centers like Stars and Strikes continue investing in their employees through recruitment and retention.
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By reaching out to different ethnicities, specifically Latin Americans, Harris says their center displays a welcoming environment for any and all employers.
While bowling centers saw the greatest increase from 2015 to 2016, multiple other fields made the list of hottest jobs in Cherokee:
1. Bowling centers (256 percent increase): This industry consists of entertainment establishments that operate bowling centers. They usually provide food and beverages.
2. Motor vehicle and motor vehicle parts and supplies merchant wholesalers (206.7 percent): This group is engaged in the wholesale distribution of cars and car parts and supplies, including tires and other new and used parts.
3. Commercial screen printing (195.1 percent): These are most often involved in screen printing, without the help of publishers (unless it's books, grey goods, or business forms). Screen printing includes stock materials, like stationary, invitations, and labels. This industry also prints on apparel, like T-shirts and jackets as well as other products.
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4. Sporting goods stores (179 percent): These stores sell sporting goods like bicycles, bicycle parts, camping and exercise equipment, athletic uniforms (including footwear), and other accessories.
5. Building inspection services (126.3 percent): This most often consists of establishments focused on providing building inspection services. They evaluate building structures, component systems, and the physical conditions of properties. This is done for buyers and others involved in real estate transactions. Home inspectors are included in this group.
6. Meat markets (100 percent): Meat markets are compromised of stores which sell fresh, frozen, or cured meats and poultry.
7. All other personal services (94.4 percent): This covers a wide variety of services, including bail bonding, shoeshine, social escort, wedding planning, dating, fortune telling, and sitting services - just to name a very few examples. This industry does not cover personal care, death care, dry cleaning or laundry, pet care, photofinishing, or parking space services.
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8. All other support services (88.1 percent): Other support services include businesses engaged in providing day-to-day services, not including office administrative, facilities support, employment, business support, travel arrangements, or security services. A short few examples of other support services which fall into this category are bartering, flagging, float decorating, auctioneers, or dining services.
9. Waste treatment and disposal (84.6 percent): This industry is made up of establishments which operate waste treatment or disposal facilities (not including sewer systems) and the combined activity of collecting waste materials within certain areas and disposing of them.
10. Architectural services (75 percent): These services include the planning and designing of residential, institutional, leisure, commercial, and industrial buildings and structures using knowledge on design, construction procedures, zoning regulations, building codes, and building materials. Architectural services do not include landscaping.
11. Car washes (66.7 percent): This industry covers the cleaning, washing, and/or waxing of cars, trucks, vans, trailers, and other vehicles.
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