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Colorado Employers Looking To Fill Thousands Of Positions During Coronavirus Pandemic

DENVER (CBS4) - Computers at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment are overwhelmed as thousands of people file for unemployment due to the coronavirus pandemic. The grocery store industry is immediately looking to fill thousands of positions.

"Across the nation we are hiring about 150,000 people," said Tiffany Wilson, Director of Communications for Walmart.

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Wilson says Walmart is looking to fill 2,900 positions in Colorado.

"The most in demand positions right now are cashiers and stockers, and stockers of course goes back to that need to make sure the items that are coming in are placed on the shelves so that they are available for customers," said Wilson.

Hollie Becker with Sprouts says they are hiring more than 200 positions at facilities across the state. Job seekers will be hired to help with everything from restocking shelves to collecting and wiping down carts.

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"If you're just looking for something for the next few weeks or the next couple of months until your regular place of business reopens, that's fine. We understand that there's a lot of people looking for that type of work right now and quite frankly, we have a similar need," said Becker.

RELATED: Latest Updates On The Coronavirus Outbreak In Colorado

Both Sprouts Farmers Market and Walmart said applicants should not feel guilty applying for and working in jobs with the intention of returning to their old jobs when this is over.

"We need to be able to take care of each other during this time when we're all having a difficult time trying to figure out how to handle this, how to manage it and the more we can do for one another the better," said Wilson.

Another job needing to be filled is commercial trucking which gets those goods to the distribution centers and stores. Wilson tells me the starting wage for those jobs at Walmart is more than $80,000 a year.

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