Business bemoans labor shortage

Does anybody out there need a job?

Well, not just anybody.

Northern Colorado companies, including big employers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Eastman Kodak Co., as well as small technology-based businesses, are reporting high levels of entry-level job vacancies.

But those same companies’ recruiters are turning away record numbers of applicants for the jobs because they lack the basic skills the employers need.

“We’re not talking computer engineering,´ said Dick Wesolowski, director of human resources for Kodak Colorado Division in Windsor. “We need an eighth-grade level of reading and reasoning for many of the jobs. But we’re having only light success in finding the…