SEABROOK — The recent commercial development along Lafayette Road has created an abundance of job opportunities. However, despite Seabrook having the highest unemployment rate in Rockingham County, businesses in Seabrook are having difficulty finding applicants for available positions.

According to an August 2015 report from the New Hampshire Employment Security Office of the state of New Hampshire, Seabrook, with a population of 8,693 at the 2010 Census, is near the top of the list of towns with the highest unemployment rates in the state. Higher rates of unemployment can be found in towns like Ellsworth, with a population of 83, Clarksville, with a population of 265, and Strafford, with a population of 746. The unemployment rates of Seabrook’s neighboring towns range from 2.8 percent in Rye and 3.1 percent in Exeter, to 4.0 percent in Hampton.

“It has been a very difficult process hiring people,” said Sal Morales, regional manager for Mr. Stax, the parent company of IHOP. “Maybe it’s because there are a lot of openings here. It’s not easy.”

Morales said the restaurant is set to open on Monday, Oct. 26. So far, though, he only has enough staff to open for the morning shift from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m., rather than a full day of operation. Morales said that if he is unable to find more employees, he will search elsewhere to fill the restaurant’s needs.

“At the end of the day, we have to bring people from other franchises,” he said.

Morales said the cooks that are in training for the opening are excited. “You can see the kids who have a sense of responsibility for being here,” he said. The beginning wages for cooks range from $12 to $14 an hour. Morales said that he needs more cooks and a lot more servers before he considers his staff complete.

Morales said he uses many resources such as NH Works to find candidates. NH Works is a partnership of state agencies and community-based organizations that links employers with job-seekers. Morales said when he calls possible candidates whose resumes he pulled from the unemployment office’s pool to ask them to come in for interviews they sometimes tell him that they are not interested and even ask him not to call them anymore.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” Morales said. “It’s beautiful here, and a good location. I need to get it fully staffed and operating smoothly.”

Up the road at clothing store Rue 21, Assistant Manager Sean Smeltzer said that it has been a challenge to find employees to work after school or who are willing to work weekends.

“It’s been the hardest thing to find people with open availability on weekends,” he said. Smeltzer attributed the difficulty to involvement in extracurricular activities.

Smeltzer began with the company two years ago at its store in Epping. He said he has retained almost all of the employees that began when the store opened in August. He said the clothing store skews to a younger age group and most of the people who express interest in working for him are only 15 years old, too young to begin employment in the state without a New Hampshire Youth Employment Certificate.

Across from Rue 21 in the Seabrook Crossing shopping center, Panera is searching for part-time and full-time workers.

“It’s been a little tough,” said shift supervisor Tiffany Michaud. Michaud said that part of the reason may be the high number of restaurants and stores that are hiring, and not enough people in the candidate pool.

“I think that there are so many opportunities here right now,” she said.

Assistant manager Alyssa Goulding said Seabrook’s Panera has retained almost all of the employees who began when the restaurant opened a year ago. She attributes some of the difficulty finding new employees to the summer ending and the start of the new school year.

Outside of the many employment opportunities along Lafayette Road, other businesses within town are facing similar challenges. Hurley Precision Machining, located at 19 Batchelder Road, is searching for at least five to eight more employees with lathing experience and thorough knowledge of the Computer Numerical Control process, or “CNC.”

“We’re very busy and we would like to have a second shift,” said office manager Kate Donahue.

Donahue said the ballpark starting salary for employees is in the $30 per-hour range and includes a 401(k) plan, paid vacation, paid overtime, health insurance, and paid holidays. She said the company is trying new ways of bringing in qualified candidates to fill positions, including sponsoring students at Great Bay Community College and guaranteeing them employment upon graduation.

“It boils down to training and education to fill our job requirements,” she said.