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GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colorado — A job fair is not occurring as planned Saturday after employers lost interest and said they don’t need more employees.
The Glenwood Springs Colorado Workforce Center planned to hold its spring job fair Saturday at the Glenwood Springs Mall. It’s been postponed until there’s more availability from employers willing to participate. However, workforce center staff is volunteering to come in on Saturday anyway and offer their normal services for job-seekers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Workforce Center sent out 300 flyers to employers advertising the job fair and inviting them to sign up for booths. Five to seven employers were interested in attending the job fair, but then most of those dropped out, according to labor and employment specialist Kathleen Kline.
“It has been changed because of the limited number of employers that wanted to participate. We started with a number of them and pretty soon they called back saying, ‘No,’ they’ve filled all their hiring needs,” she said. She added later, “It is pretty discouraging.”
A few of the employers also reportedly didn’t want to be involved in a job fair that would be a small one.
Some employers have reported not needing to do a lot of looking for employees recently. They’re getting bombarded with calls and resumes as people continue to lose jobs. They’re having a much easier time finding and keeping employees since people are competing harder for jobs.
Colorado’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose .6 percent to 7.2 in February. It increased 1.8 percent over the three months prior and is was the highest recorded since a February 1988 of 7.3 percent. Nationally, the rate has grown to 8.5 percent in March. March data isn’t yet available for Colorado. In February, Garfield County’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, up from 5.4 percent in January. In January 2008 it was 3.2 percent.
Kline said the construction industry taking a hit affects a wide variety of jobs from those who work in construction trades to architects, designers, road-builders, and people in banks.
“We have a significant amount of white-collar and blue-collar job seekers,” she said. “Right now we’ve got a lot of great, qualified people.”
Unemployment has been given two federal extensions and Workforce Center offices are busy in Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Steamboat and elsewhere, she said.
“We’re seeing more influx of job seekers and yes, it is taking them longer,” Kline said. “It’s become more competitive.”
The Glenwood Springs Colorado Workforce Center planned to hold its spring job fair Saturday at the Glenwood Springs Mall. It’s been postponed until there’s more availability from employers willing to participate. However, workforce center staff is volunteering to come in on Saturday anyway and offer their normal services for job-seekers from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Workforce Center sent out 300 flyers to employers advertising the job fair and inviting them to sign up for booths. Five to seven employers were interested in attending the job fair, but then most of those dropped out, according to labor and employment specialist Kathleen Kline.
“It has been changed because of the limited number of employers that wanted to participate. We started with a number of them and pretty soon they called back saying, ‘No,’ they’ve filled all their hiring needs,” she said. She added later, “It is pretty discouraging.”
A few of the employers also reportedly didn’t want to be involved in a job fair that would be a small one.
Some employers have reported not needing to do a lot of looking for employees recently. They’re getting bombarded with calls and resumes as people continue to lose jobs. They’re having a much easier time finding and keeping employees since people are competing harder for jobs.
Colorado’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose .6 percent to 7.2 in February. It increased 1.8 percent over the three months prior and is was the highest recorded since a February 1988 of 7.3 percent. Nationally, the rate has grown to 8.5 percent in March. March data isn’t yet available for Colorado. In February, Garfield County’s non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, up from 5.4 percent in January. In January 2008 it was 3.2 percent.
Kline said the construction industry taking a hit affects a wide variety of jobs from those who work in construction trades to architects, designers, road-builders, and people in banks.
“We have a significant amount of white-collar and blue-collar job seekers,” she said. “Right now we’ve got a lot of great, qualified people.”
Unemployment has been given two federal extensions and Workforce Center offices are busy in Glenwood Springs, Rifle, Steamboat and elsewhere, she said.
“We’re seeing more influx of job seekers and yes, it is taking them longer,” Kline said. “It’s become more competitive.”
