Regional hiring fair being held tomorrow in Oxford

Oct. 24—OXFORD — The East AlabamaWorks Regional Workforce Council is holding its annual regional hiring fair on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Oxford Civic Center. There is no charge to attend the hiring fair and the event will be open to the public from 3-6 p.m.

Workforce program manager Carl Brady said 70 regional employers have registered to participate in the hiring fair.

"As part pf the registration process, we always ask how many openings each employer will be trying to fill. This year's 70 employers have indicated that they have more than 2,100 open positions that need to be filled as soon as possible," said Brady.

He noted the region's current unemployment rate now sets at 2.9 percent and "there are not a lot of people actively looking for employment."

"That 2.9 percent rate represents about 4,500 people who are unemployed and actively seeking work in our region," said Brady. "With that being said, we are still more concerned with the low workforce participation rate."

According to Alabama Department of Labor statistics, only about 57 percent of Alabama's eligible workforce is working or looking for work. That leaves 43 percent of eligible workers who have just "checked-out" of the system and are not participating.

"Those are the people we are struggling to reach," said Brady. "We've got to find the magic combination that entices these people to get back into the workforce and fill all of these empty jobs."

Brady calls Tuesday's hiring fair "a step in that direction" with many employers offering higher wages, signing bonuses, and better benefits. Many of the employers will also be doing instant, on-site job interviews, and some will even be making contingent job offers on the spot.

Brady said jobseekers coming to the hiring fair should "be dressed for success and bring plenty of copies of your resume."