Emanuel Announces 400 More Jobs Coming to Chicago

Chicago - SeatonCorp , a staffing and recruiting company based on the Near North Side, said Wednesday they plan to hire 400 workers, some of whom will earn more than $60,000 per year.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel says Seaton's rapid growth shows the city is a great place for businesses to grow and expand.

"They love the work force, work ethic, the capacity to hire real talented people with experiences, diversity of experiences here in the City of Chicago," Emanuel said. "And they can get to anywhere in the country directly using, obviously, O'Hare or Midway."

SeatonCorp has signed a 10-year lease extension on its corporate headquarters, where more than 1,200 already work. To make room for 400 new employees, the company said it has acquired additional space in another building.

It's rare to find any company growing that fast in this economy. INC Magazine last month called SeatonCorp one of America's top ten privately-held job creators. They've become the personnel department for some of the country's biggest corporations, interviewing, screening and hiring workers for them.

"We hire about 220,000 people a year. To put that in perspective, every 34 seconds we make a job offer," said CEO Patrick Beharelle.

The growing client list reads like a roll call of American industry. Many companies have reduced the payroll of their own personnel departments by turning work over to PeopleScout, Staff Management SMX and other SeatonCorp subsidiaries. They've been so successful that Vice President Allison Brigden needs to hire 90 people here in Chicago in the next 90 days.

"We're looking for 1-3 years of customer service experience, plus computer skills and a high school diploma," Brigden said.

Those entry-level positions will pay about $22,000-$25,000 a year. They're also hiring senior recruiters who will earn up to $80,000-a-year. Don't think you have the skills needed? You can apply at ChicagoCareerTech , a non-profit that will teach you the skills.

Despite what some other companies have done, CEO Patrick Beharelle said in some cases it no longer makes economic sense to move these kinds of jobs overseas. He said that they moved 77 jobs from India to the United States because wages there are growing faster than wages here.

That may be the only positive side-effect of our low wage growth here at home.

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