BY REBECCA SHEEHAN

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

Finally the long-term unemployed, as well as Garden State residents who lost their jobs at the hands of Superstorm Sandy are now getting an incredible opportunity at the hands of Newark Liberty International Airport and Home Depot.

According to the Associated Press, Newark Liberty International Airport is looking to hire 1,000 N.J. residents for a new cargo and baggage handling operation.

In order to fill the positions within the next 60 days, Swissport USA is receiving assistance from both the Christie Administration and the Department of Labor.

In the coming weeks, Swissport USA will be hosting a handful of job fairs throughout the area. The full-time jobs offered by the ground service company include: supervisor positions and cargo warehouse agents, with pay ranging from $9 to $16 per hour, and medical benefits.

But while Swissport USA will hire 1,000 people from the job fairs, only 400 will remain when operations begin on April 3, said Kim Yan, vice president of ground handling and cargo to NJ.com.

Home Depot Inc. said Wednesday according to NorthJersey.com that it plans to hire 1,650 seasonal employees in northern and central New Jersey for its busiest season, spring. The home improvement chain is boosting its seasonal hiring in the top half of the state by more than 50 percent over last year, when it added 1,100 seasonal workers. The company expects to add about some 2,650 workers in its 67 stores in New Jersey.

The seasonal workers typically are part- timers hired for the 90-day spring selling season. A Home Depot spokeswoman said Wednesday that about half of the seasonal workers hired in 2012 became permanent employees.

Swissport USA, meanwhile, said the remaining 600 people who are hired and trained but are not offered permanent positions will get paid during training, Yan said. Also, down the line, according to Richard Fierson, its senior consultant and project director, they may be hired at a later point at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport – where 100 positions are being added.

Swissport USA stated to the Associated Press that they are giving priority consideration to applicants displaced by Hurricane Sandy.