Are you out of work and looking for a job? A new website may be able to help. The State Labor Department is launching a new job search site, listing more than 84,000 job opportunities.
It's the latest effort by the Labor Department to match job seekers with employers looking for skilled workers. The New York State Job Bank currently lists 84,217 jobs and the site continues to grow.
It's free to use for both those looking for work and those looking to hire. You can post your resume and search for opportunities in fields that interest you. Businesses can post job openings and view resumes. "In this tough job market we need to find every way possible to improve the tools we already have," said Commissioner Colleen Gardner. "We will continue to expand and improve this site because the unemployed deserve nothing less. This site adds more jobs, makes it easier for job seekers to find those jobs, and for businesses to post jobs and find talent."
This new website couldn't come at a better time. Over the two years of the recession, 8.4 million jobs were lost. Unemployment hit a high of 10.1 percent last fall and is now at 9.5 percent.
But you may have a harder time finding a job than you think. Company job openings fells for the second straight month in June, a sign that hiring isn't likely to pick up in the coming months. The U.S. Labor Department says job openings at businesses fell to 2.54 million from 2.6 million in May. Overall openings were unchanged, as government openings ticked up. The report suggests that slow hiring is the biggest hurdle facing the nation's work force.
Meanwhile, economists believe companies need to stop slashing their work forces and start rehiring laid off workers. That will boost incomes and give households the support they need to increase consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. And that would ultimately lead to more demand for those companies' products.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this article.
