BY JASMINE PALMA
Amidst high unemployment due to the COVID-19 crisis, acting Queens Borough President Sharon Lee resumes her endeavors in connecting Queens residents with job opportunities in her sixth installation of a remote Queens job recruitment fair.
The job fair aims to aid the over 1 million New Yorkers who have lost their job during the past five months of the pandemic. The unemployment rate rose to 21.8 percent in June — a steep incline from a meager 3 percent rate in February. More than 1.51 million New York City residents filed unemployment claims between March 8 and July 18, according to the New York City Department of Labor.
“With an unemployment rate north of 20 percent in New York City, it is critical that we connect job seekers with available positions in key sectors of our restarting economy,” Lee said. “We are pleased to have new partners join our returning employers in answering questions live about a wide variety of jobs hiring now.”
The initiative, a recurring event held every third Wednesday, will take place Aug. 5 from 2 to 3 p.m. through a Zoom webinar.
Attendees will hear presentations from featured employers and recruiters that look to fill vacant positions in healthcare, transportation, retail and security, among others.
The participating employers and recruiters include the following:
- The Child Center of New York
- Community Capacity Development
- The Council for Airport Opportunity
- LIFE Camp, Inc.
- Mercy Home
- MetroPlus Health Plan
- New York Life
- NYC Health + Hospitals
- Queens Centers for Progress
- Rock Safe Streets — a Sheltering Arms program
- WATCH GUARD 24/7
- Workforce1 and the Young Adult Institute (YAI)
“We are seeing a growing need for more airport workers as we begin to safely and slowly recover from this devastating pandemic,” said Council for Airport Opportunity Executive Director Andrew Campbell. “Partnering with the Queens borough president’s office on this recruitment fair will help the Queens community gain access to much-needed employment opportunities. I applaud the Queens borough president on her efforts to support Queens residents.”
Those interested in participating can register here by Aug. 4. The event will be livestreamed at this link. Previous job fairs can be viewed here.
