NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Normally when you’re looking for a job, you’re first thought is to go online, but now employers want positions filled fast, relying on temp agencies like never before.

Sitting in his office, located in the business complex at Park Place, John Devlin says he is taking in more calls from businesses looking for help.

“I get two or three calls a week from a hotel, a hospital, somebody who’s looking for dishwashers, servers, bartenders, you name it, they’re looking for it,” Devlin said.

Devlin is the Branch Manager at All Team Staffing. He says work and temp agencies like his, are in high demand.

“A lot of them have used us in the past, but not to the volume that they are using us now,” Devlin described.

He is talking about businesses in need of more employees. As capacity restrictions lifted, the focus shifted from getting customers in, to getting quality workers to stay.

“I do get a lot of people that call me up and say, ‘Hey, I have to pay my rent, and when rent comes due. Do you pay every week? And my rent comes due in seven days, can I get in, get some work?'” said Devlin, detailing just some of the calls he receives on a daily basis.

Devlin says a major problem is finding someone who wants to work long-term. It’s a problem being seen in other work agencies as well.

“The applicant flow was pretty steady. We would get on average anywhere from 20, 30, 40 calls, sometimes in a day, and you would get a steady flow coming in the door through walk-ins. Post-pandemic we’re not seeing those numbers,” said Alexa Bynum, Branch Manager at the Luttrell Staffing Group in Antioch.

Bynum says the number of potential applicants has gone down by nearly 70 percent. One reason behind the decrease is an increase in the number of people relying on federal aid. This will soon change in Tennessee, starting July 3, the state will be among 24 others who will have opted out of federal unemployment pandemic assistance.

“They’re looking for ways, different ways maybe outside of what they’ve been doing, they’re looking for that assistance, that extra hand, that extra set of eyes in recruiting efforts,” said Bynum.

Bynum says she expects there to be an influx in potential employees looking for work, once Federal Aid ends. However, until then, agencies say they are preparing for the influx of companies needing help to continue.