Mariah Stewart, who moved to Oahu from New Jersey in December, walked around the Hawaii Career Expo open to any jobs that might come her way.

Shayde Kekaula, accompanied by his father, KITV sports director Robert Kekaula, was intent upon finding a position without any paternal assistance.

And Bryan Haley, out of the job market for the last 10 years while managing his family’s trust, surveyed the “Corner Office” management listings as he sought to return to the regular working world.

They were among the job seekers networking with about 150 employers Wednesday at the Neal Blaisdell Center Exhibition Hall. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, First Hawaiian Bank and ALTRES Staffing were title sponsors of the event.

With Hawaii’s unemployment rate in February at an eight-year low of 3.1 percent, some job seekers may discover they have the upper hand on employers.

The number of employers at the expo was up 25 percent over last year’s event, according to Patrick Klein, vice president of advertising for the Star-Advertiser.

“The unemployment rate being where it is, everybody’s looking for the same job seekers,” Klein said. “Looking around and talking to companies here, they’re very happy and impressed with the quality of applicants walking around. The quantity isn’t what it was two years ago, but hopefully what they’ve been saying is if they find one, the one that they find will be that much more valuable now.”

Employers are making a lot more accommodations to attract qualified applicants.

“This is an employees’ market,” said Lynn Hiyane, clerical and technical personnel manager for ALTRES Staffing. “Because unemployment is so low right now, employers are having to make accommodations. Everybody is looking for basically the same really qualified candidate. So it’s in their (job seekers’) ballpark right now to get a little bit higher pay, sometimes a little more flexible schedule.”

Hiyane said ALTRES, the state’s largest staffing company with clerical, technical, industrial and medical positions, is also seeing more so-called “passive” job seekers — people who already have jobs but are looking to improve their position.

“There’s not very many people unemployed to begin with,” said Hiyane, adding that ALTRES has at least 300 positions it is trying to fill. “The majority of people are working, but a lot of times they’re looking for greener pastures.”

Carol Ono, senior vice president and talent acquisitions manager for First Hawaiian Bank, said the state’s largest financial institution has about 150 openings, including 40 to 45 teller positions.

“It’s an all-out war on talent,” she said. “We’re doing everything we can. We’re attending all the job fairs. We’re attending the military job fairs. We’re going to the University of Hawaii. We’re reaching out wherever we can. We did a virtual job fair. We’re trying different ways or different venues to reach those passive job seekers as well, but definitely it’s an all-out war on talent. It’s really, really getting tough.”

Stewart, the recent arrival from New Jersey, said she’s confident she’ll get a job that she wants.

“Anytime is a good time to get a job,” she said. “I don’t believe in the whole unemployment thing. I believe if you work hard enough and you’re persistent enough, you’ll find a job somewhere. And why not come here to the expo where’s it’s easy because you have so many employers right here under one roof.”

Stewart, who lives in Pearl City, has a job but is looking for something more substantial.

“I decided that this is probably the best place to come and find a career,” she said. “I am employed right now, but unfortunately that is a retail job and I’ve worked in retail since I was 16 years old and I’m now 23. So I’m really looking for something to branch into a career, something I could see myself doing for a very long time, and unfortunately retail was not it for me.”

Shayde Kekaula, 19, who attends the University of Hawaii-Manoa, said he’d be interested in a job in the fields of real estate, the arts, insurance and banking.

“My motivation is I just keep moving forward, keep putting myself out there and, in time, the right job will come,” the Kalihi resident said. “With the economy evolving year after year, education is pretty much everything. That’s one thing that’s kind of challenging because some (job seekers) say no to education and just go right into work, and lack of education is what hinders people.”

Robert Kekaula, who also is a broadcaster for UH football, said he’s not pushing his son to follow in his path.

“I’d like to see him find his own happiness,” Kekaula said. “What’s cool about it is I’ve offered to help him get a job. I can pick up the phone and help him. He won’t let me do it. Deep down I appreciate that. He wants to earn his own way. He wants to make his own path. So I’m just here to support him.”

Haley, 57, of Waipio, said he had been managing his family trust for the last 10 years but is going to be turning over that responsibility to his brother, who just sold his mainland electronics company.

“I’m going to go back to where I was, basically,” he said. “I was in hospitality for 25 years and I’m initially starting to look there. But I’m open to other things, sales, anything that would be a good fit for me and the company.”

Although Haley was one of the older job applicants at the expo, he’s hopeful his age and the low unemployment rate will work in his favor.

“I’m hoping that’s good for me because the lower (the unemployment rate) goes, maybe companies are more interested in drawing in more experienced people, and there’s probably less people out there looking for work,” Haley said. “So hopefully it’s looking good for me.”