HR Articles

St Louis Job Openings with Fast Food Chain

One popular fast food chain is looking to create hundreds of St Louis job openings.

Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. recently announced that it will open five to seven new stand-alone restaurants in St. Louis, a move that will double the company's locations in the area and create 400 jobs during the next year-and-a-half.

The first new location is slated to open August 1 at the Arnold Mall and is looking for 65 employees. Another location will open at St. Louis University this fall, followed by potential restaurants in Des Peres, Cottleville and Wentzville.

The company will celebrate the opening of the first store by giving away a one-year supply of free Chick-fil-A meals to the first 100 adults in line on opening day. According to an article by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the company has given away more than $11 million in free food since 2003.

Chick-fil-A currently operates five restaurants in the St. Louis area. The additional restaurants are part of the company's plans to open 78 restaurants across the country this year, which will create 4,400 jobs throughout America.

Since its founding in 1967, Chick-fil-A Inc. has grown to almost 1,490 restaurants in 38 states and Washington, D.C. The company produced record sales of $3.2 billion during 2009.

The new Chick-fil-A jobs are another indicator of the St. Louis area's improving economy.

During April, the city's unemployment rate decreased to 9.5 percent after remaining at 11 percent for two consecutive months. That decrease places St. Louis's rate below the national average at the time of 9.9 percent.

St. Louis had a total non-farm employment of 1,294,900 workers during April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 1,276,900 workers during March, but a .9 percent decrease from last year.

Check out this video from Chick-fil-A:

St Louis Construction Jobs Created by New Home Buyer Incentive Program

A new state program will help to create St Louis construction jobs and provide incentives for home buyers.

Gov. Jay Nixon recently launched the Home Ownership Purchase Enhancement Program, a $15 million initiative designed to jump-start Missouri's housing-construction industry.

"Putting Missouri highly skilled tradesmen and women back to work is a vital step toward jump-starting our economy," Nixon said. "Missouri is home to highly skilled, highly professional workers from all types of trades, but too many of these men and women are currently out of work. By sparking growth in our housing industry, we'll get these men and women back on the job and help more Missouri families realize the American dream."

Through the program, the Missouri Housing Development Commission will provide incentives of up to $1,750 to encourage residents to purchase homes. The incentive will equal the cost of the home buyer's first-year property taxes, up to $1,250.

Residents also will be eligible for an enhanced incentive if they purchase an energy-efficient home, purchase and remodel an existing home, or purchase an item to make a home more energy efficient, such as an Energy Star appliance.

Under the program, a home buyer with an estimated property tax of $1,250 would receive an energy efficiency enhancement of $500. A home buyer with an estimated property tax of less than $1,250 would be eligible for a larger energy-efficiency incentive, up to a total of $1,750.

"This property tax relief program gets MHDC off the sidelines by committing to put hardworking Missourians to work right now," Clint Zweifel, state treasurer and chair of MHDC, said. "We are making sure MHDC makes strategic long-term investments that move the economy forward and create and retain Missouri jobs."