Almost 2,000 job-seekers filled the club level at FedEx Field in Landover on Tuesday, hoping to gain favor with the 25 employers looking to fill empty positions.

Those 25 employers might be in the minority, however, as many Maryland businesses remain cautious about hiring and are struggling to avoid layoffs as Labor Day approaches. Although some are retaining workers with the help of federal stimulus money, others are hurting as business travel is slow to rebound. And while some employers focus on specific contracts and projects at their companies, others constantly monitor broad economic trends to gauge the hiring environment.

But for the employers gathering stacks of résumés and making their pitch at Tuesday's job fair, which was presented by The Employment Guide, the economy was something on which they were trying not to focus.

"We try not to get influenced by something negative in the press," said Kibum Park, a general manager with American General Life and Accident Insurance in Largo.

Park was in the market for 80 new sales agents and hoped to attract them with promises of "Control your own income" and "You don't have to worry about your boss laying you off."

A representative of Anago, a cleaning company in Landover, was looking for five promising candidates, saying the economy only has a limited impact on the need for janitors.

"As long as you're dealing with trash, they're going to need you. There's no way around that," said J. Darren Williams, a regional director with Anago.

Even the Washington Redskins, owner of FedEx Field, was offering thousands of minimum wage positions for ushers, ticket takers and in guest relations. And FedEx Ground, with headquarters in Beltsville, was seeking 200 seasonal workers, as it does every year, said Bryan P. Thomas of FedEx Ground.

A similar situation can be found at Montgomery Works, a county work force agency in Wheaton, where a diverse selection of companies – from medical firms to chimney companies — partner with the agency for advertising and outreach.

"What we have noticed — and we have two job recruitment [companies interviewing] going on here right now — is over the last month there's been an increase in some employers getting back to our business services people sooner than in previous months," said Yolanda Tully, director of operations at Workforce Solutions Group, which works with Montgomery Works. "Where it was two days to two weeks to hear back from companies, now it takes two days. For three weeks now we've had job recruitment by employers here every week."

Here's what some executives are saying about their employment pictures, which range from discouraging to promising:

Austin J. Slater Jr., president and CEO, Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Hughesville:

"We have a work force of about 475 employees; that's about 25 employees less than two years ago. Despite continued growth in new consumers, albeit at a reduced pace, we have focused on reducing our employee population, which is one of our highest controllable costs. We have achieved this through a combination of adoption of technology, business process redesign and organizational streamlining. We plan to continue to focus on downsizing our employee population, short of cutting into our core competencies. Where practicable, we are recruiting contract labor, primarily in seasonal and short-term roles."

Charles J. Wolf, president and CEO, Payroll Network, Kensington:

"Payroll Network has 43 employees. Within the last three months, we increased our work force by two more people. [Last year] was a growth year for us. We added seven new positions, despite the difficult economy. We are currently looking to add four more experienced sales professionals to our team. ... We are finding that more people are coming to us for not just payroll management services, but also for strategic knowledge and partnership programs."

Kenneth M. Grunley, president, Grunley Construction, Rockville:

"We have added 50 full-time employees since New Year's, all due to stimulus money from the federal government. We do not anticipate any major changes in the work force for the balance of the year."

Brian Conyers, general manager, Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore Hotel:

"We have decreased our staff over an 18-month period. We staff based on a 90-day forecast for the future, and we are staffed at the appropriate levels for the next three months. We really look at our group business levels on the books and trends in transient bookings to make our staffing decisions."

David H. Affeldt, president and COO, Grove Resource Solutions, Frederick:

"We continue to be in growth mode. ... We do about 25 percent commercial business and 75 percent government, so a lot of these little burps don't work into our pipeline. A lot of our commercial customers hire us to do work that will eventually serve the government. ... We look at federal budgets and what they are spending money on."

Marc Heyman, president of HomeGamers, which has locations in Westminster and St. Charles:

"The [Baltimore] Ravens winning the Super Bowl [would help business]. About 75 percent of our sales are Ravens products."

Scott Ryser, founder and CEO, Yakabod, an information technology company in Frederick:

"We have not faced some of the same macroeconomics as other companies. ... A lot of our business comes from the federal government, so we have been sheltered. Our hiring is based on our growth as a technology company. There seems to be a shift in federal spending, so you have to make sure you're in the right market."

Tim Engle, general manager, The Clarion Hotel, Aberdeen:

"We need companies to start traveling again. We haven't increased staff since the spring of 2009. Usually we have a smaller staff in the winter than in the summer, so we hire more in the spring. We didn't do that this year. ... One huge issue is how the [General Services Administration] has set the per diems on how much they'll give their travelers to spend for lodging. It's lower for many this year. It's causing hotels to not only limit hiring but not give wage increases this year. There may also be some cuts."

Thomas A. Kleinhanzl, president and CEO, Frederick Memorial Healthcare System:

"With the economy slowing down, we slowed down our hiring, too, but never stopped. Demand for our services has rebounded pretty quick ... it's been extremely busy over the last three months. Inflation and unemployment factor into people's decisions to pursue services like health care."

Bud McManus, branch operation manager of Axa Advisors, a financial planning company in Columbia:

"We're actively engaged in recruiting financial advisors and have been doing so all through the downward-trending market. They're hired on a commission basis. As far as staff, there's no freeze on hiring right now and we hire as needs arise."

Robin Wiener, president and founding partner, Get Real Consulting, Rockville:

"We have added two people in the last three months and plan to add more in the near future. We now have 35 employees in our offices in Rockville and India, with 14 people in Rockville. We specialize in developing consumer healthcare information technology solutions and are in the process of rolling out a new product that we expect will do really well. ... Sales have been good lately, and we expect a significant boost from the new federal healthcare reform act, with its requirements on healthcare IT. We are primed with our new product to be in the right place at the right time to take off."

lrobbins@gazette.net, kshay@gazette.net, chuntemann@gazette.net