MIAMI — Ron Brezzell runs the South Florida district for Domino’s Pizza and faces this problem in almost every location: a lack of people wanting to deliver pizza for a living. In fact, the company needs 300 drivers in South Florida right now.

“I’ve got 47 stores,” said Brezzell, head of corporate operations in Domino’s Plantation, Fla., office. “Not one can honestly say they’re not hiring.”

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Despite the sour economy, Domino’s Pizza finds that employees can be hard to come by – though the flexible hours appealed to Yocasta Valdez, who recently left her job at a day care center to be a Domino’s driver in Miami. Emily Michot/Miami Herald

Landing a job can be difficult amid some of the highest jobless rates since the Depression. But filling jobs can be tough, too, as employers find they’re either paying too little or expecting too much, even with 14 million Americans out of work.

Telemarketing firms have found it difficult to fill positions, despite the slow economy, said Sue Romanos, president of CareerXchange, which recruits workers for companies.

“It’s a really tough job to be on the phone selling eight hours a day,” she said.

In some ways, the recession’s severity complicates the task for hiring managers. By enacting emergency benefits, Congress has allowed the jobless to collect unemployment checks for nearly two years, rather than the standard six months.

In Florida, the maximum $275 weekly stipend can sometimes exceed what a worker would make earning the state minimum wage of $7.31 an hour (or $292 a week, before taxes).

In Maine, the maximum benefit is $366 a week. A full-time worker earning the Maine minimum wage of $7.50 an hour makes $300 a week before taxes. Unemployment generally represents a fraction of a worker’s previous wages.

Depressed real estate prices also make it harder for workers to relocate where their skills or background are more in demand. Even the overall gloom surrounding the labor market can shrink the pool of qualified applicants, as employed workers assume there’s little hope in looking for a better job.

While off record highs, joblessness is still high nationwide.

Most industries are still digging out from the employment hole left by the recession. Compared to 2007, construction jobs are down about 28 percent, according to federal statistics. The white-collar jobs found in the financial professional categories are off about 10 percent. Retail and tourism have narrower losses, but they pay lower wages.

Even well-paying jobs, however, go unclaimed. Chicago-based AAR Corp. services commercial airliners at Miami International Airport and said it always has between 20 and 50 openings in Miami, mainly for mechanics and others trained to work on aviation equipment.

“Here are the jobs. We just need the right skills,” said Christine Jayne, head of government affairs for the company. “This is a problem for us across the country.”

At Domino’s, becoming a driver requires no specialized training, only a driver’s license. The pay is usually minimum wage, but they can make more with tips. And with pizza in demand day and night, drivers can make their own schedule.

“I like it because there are flexible hours,” said Yocasta Valdez, who recently left her job at a day care center to become a driver at a Domino’s in downtown Miami.

Domino’s plans a hiring blitz throughout the region Sept. 27, with all stores conducting interviews throughout the day. The chain says it needs about 300 drivers and about 50 store managers.

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