SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) — Operators at three Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts said they anticipate big turnouts this week for job fairs.

With high unemployment rates in both Nevada and California, operators said they expect competition for the seasonal jobs to be fiercer than in the past.

"We've seen more interest and we've also seen a higher-caliber candidate," Kirstin Cattell, spokeswoman for Sierra-at-Tahoe, told the Tahoe Daily Tribune.

Nevada's unemployment rate reached a record 13.3 percent in September. In California, the rate was 12.2 percent.

Even without much snow on the ground, Cattell said the resort has seen more applications from people with college degrees and those who have 20 or 30 years experience in the work force than last year.

"We've seen a lot of people who have been laid off from previous jobs," she said.

Resorts have also seen more interest from regional and national job seekers this year, said Heavenly Mountain Resort spokesman Russ Pecoraro.

"Applications have been coming in sooner and positions have been filled sooner," Pecoraro said. "With that said, we're still expecting thousands of people at the job fairs."

The sheer number of expected applicants means prospective employees will have to be prepared, Cattell said.

"Just be aware that there is a lot more competition than in year's past," Cattell said. "Show up ready to interview for a job."

Heavenly Mountain resorts has about 300 year-around employees and will employ about 1,500 people at the peak of the winter, Pecoraro said. It is holding job fairs on Saturday and Tuesday.

Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood Mountain Resort have job fairs scheduled Saturday.

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Information from: Tahoe Daily Tribune