With unemployment continuing to be a major problem in Queens as the city begins to reopen the economy from the COVID-19 shutdown, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards scheduled the next edition of the monthly virtual jobs fair.
The Greater New York Nursing Service, the Nursing Personnel Home Care Agency and the MTA Long Island Rail Road are participating for the first time on Thursday, May 20, while the United States Tennis Association returns to the series with a presentation about job opportunities available at this summer’s U.S. Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
The latest jobs fair announcement comes just days after the U.S. Labor Department reported that employers added just 266,000 jobs nationwide in April, well below expectations and sharply lower than the 916,000 jobs added in March.
“The April unemployment report shows we have a long way to go to get back to full employment,” Richards said. “Our office does its part by hosting our monthly Virtual Queens Jobs Recruitment Fairs, which connects Queens residents with companies hiring right now. We won’t let up on our efforts to help Queens job-seekers secure the employment they are looking for to support themselves and their families.”
The May 20 jobs fair, starting at 2 p.m., will feature brief presentations from employers and recruiters seeking to fill numerous positions in a variety of fields, including aviation, transportation, developmental support, retail, finance and more. A question-and-answer session will follow the presentations.
“The Queens Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with Borough President Richards for his virtual recruitment fair and we look forward to this stellar opportunity to meet talented individuals to grow our team,” Queens Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Grech said. “As Queens recovers from the pandemic, we are fortunate to have a borough president who is deeply committed to connecting Queens residents with jobs and helping our economy bounce back.”
According to the most recent statistics available from the state Department of Labor, the Queens unemployment rate was 11 percent in April. That is down from a high of 21.6 percent in June 2020, but still eight percentage points higher than February 2020’s pre-pandemic low of 3 percent, making the borough fertile ground for recruiters.
Leaders of Building Skills New York, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting members of underserved and underrepresented communities across the five boroughs with access to good-paying construction jobs, said they’re proud to partner with the Queens borough president’s office.
“The pandemic has taken a significant toll on New York’s economy and its workforce. We are keenly aware that in order to realize a full and successful recovery, individuals need resources and skills to reenter the labor market and also to advance their careers,” Building Skills NY Senior Recruiter Calvin Edwards said.
The jobs fair will be livestreamed online from 2 to 3:30 p.m. at queensbp.org.
Those interested in participating in the interactive Q&A must RSVP by Wednesday, May 19, at queensbp/rsvp and instructions will be emailed on the day of the event to those who register.
