In what could be a new high for turnout of recruiters for the fall job fair, organizers are also prepared for a record number of nonprofit organizations trying to hire workers in one of the tightest job markets in the country.

The fall Job Quest job fair is typically the smallest of the year — especially compared to May's record turnout of 175 recruiters for the WorkForce job fair, according to Beth Busch, who runs both fairs.

But with a Hawai'i unemployment rate running below 3 percent for most of the year to lead the rest of the country, 160 recruiters had already signed up last week for Job Quest.

By yesterday, the number had grown to 170.

And by the time Job Quest begins Sept. 20 at the Blaisdell Center exhibition hall, Busch expects that as many as 200 recruiters may be competing for workers — including a dozen nonprofit groups.

"My guess is that we're going to be getting a lot more nonprofits," Busch said. "It's always hard for nonprofits to recruit, partly because they don't traditionally pay as much. In a tight job market, it just makes it that much tighter. When there are lots of good opportunities out there, then more people are likely to take the money."

Hawai'i's job fairs often serve as a barometer of the Islands' economy. And among the federal, state, county, Mainland and local employers setting up recruiting booths, this fall's Job Quest suggests that nonprofit groups are particularly hurting for good workers, Busch said.

"I always feel bad for them because they have tight budgets for recruiting," Busch said. "But these days ... it seems like some of them are just scraping by to run an ad."

So nonprofit recruiters plan to talk to potential employees about the intangible rewards of their work.

"When you leave at the end of the day, you feel that you've really helped somebody," said Dyan Kleckner, public relations specialist for the nonprofit ARC in Hawaii, which works with 270 adults with mental and other related development disabilities.

The ARC in Hawaii needs habilitation workers/instructor assistants to help groom, dress and prepare meals for adults with mental development disabilities. The organization also needs instructors to supervise clients' treatment programs, Kleckner said.

Kleckner did not have an exact number of openings yesterday, but said "it's a bunch."

Mark Nishiyama, co-founder and vice president of Kama'aina Kids, is blunt about one of the main reasons groups like his have a hard time attracting good job candidates.

"With unemployment being real low and wages being low in the childcare field, you're competing against fast-food chains that are paying as much or more than we do," Nishiyama said. "We're all in the same boat, whether you're working for ... a large nonprofit or ourselves. Everybody's looking for good people."

So Nishiyama has a simple reason to join Kama'aina Kids.

"It helps when you can say you can change the life of a youngster," he said.

It's that kind of motivation that touches Busch.

Even though she faces a potential record crowd of recruiters, Busch promised yesterday to find space for any nonprofit group in the crowded Blaisdell exhibition hall.

"It takes a certain kind of person to want to do that kind of work," she said. "We're full, but we'll make a place for them and we'll make sure they get good billing and we'll make room for as many as them as we can."

The nonprofit Winners At Work already has a spot. The organization needs 20 to 25 new employees to work with people with disabilities or who have histories of drug abuse or cultural differences that create so-called "barriers to employment," as the group calls them.

As Winners at Work expands in the next few years Sam Powell, the group's director of community relations, can see the need for as many as 50 new workers.

"This is one of the most rewarding and satisfying things you can do," Powell said. "At the end of the day, you really feel like you've done something worthwhile, to help someone become independent and self-sufficient."

There are a few minimum requirements for most of the jobs, such as a high school degree. Some experience in working with people with disabilities also helps.

But Powell believes there's only one prerequisite for anyone wanting a job with his organization.

"You have to have a big heart," he said. "That's the most important thing."

Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com.