Hamilton Journal News (Ohio) (01/29/12) Chelsey Livingston

A recent Ohio work force development report notes that companies in the state are complaining that despite Ohio’s more than 80,000 job openings, finding enough workers who can pass drug tests to fill these positions remains a challenge. Sandy Oakes, a training recruiter at the Belcan Staffing Solutions office in Fairfield—a temporary job company that screens applicants with drug tests and background checks for employers—says that 5% to 10% of the hundreds of applicants are failing their drug tests. However, she notes that percentage is actually lower than in previous years, when at least 25% failed. “I feel it’s due to the fact it’s so hard to find a job. I think they know that so they’re trying to clean their act up, where before, I think they used to think, ‘Oh, I’ll fail today, but I’ll get a job tomorrow,'” Oakes says. “It is not that way anymore.”