Aug. 27—Those seeking employment in Kern County need look no further than Bakersfield City Hall or the County of Kern Administrative Center, as the city and the county have lots of positions available for job-seekers.
The city of Bakersfield saw 500 to 600 potential applicants Friday afternoon at its first-ever job fair at Mill Creek Park, according to city spokesman Joe Conroy, who said Bakersfield is looking to make the event an annual occurrence.
"It was a pretty big crowd and pretty much every table had somebody visiting them and talking with them," Conroy added.
If someone wasn't able to attend but they're interested in seeking employment, the city's Human Resources page has a number of listings. Ahead of Friday's fair, Conroy said the city had more than 200 positions, including temporary and full-time, available.
City officials specifically planned the event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to make the offerings available to those who might have a job but be interested in looking at other opportunities, he added.
"We may look at different dates in the future ... to see if we think we might get more people or different clientele," he said, "but we're pretty pleased with how this one went this time."
Kern County officials are hoping for a similarly successful turnout next month when it hosts a job fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 17 at 1115 Truxtun Ave. in Bakersfield.
Devin Brown, the county's chief human resources officer, said Kern has dozens of jobs available, and pretty much every department will be represented.
In addition to welcoming job-seekers, the county is also offering advice on applying as well as insights on county hiring practices, as a means of "demystifying" the process, Brown said.
"Our goal is to talk to potential candidates about all the opportunities that each of these departments has available, what they do, what kind of work the county does for residents, really, showcase what the county as an employer is all about," he said. "And on top of that, provide opportunities for candidates (who can) apply for positions with our county and even interview and potentially be offered employment that day."
The county is offering employment opportunities for permanent positions, which have a little more involved hiring process, as well as "limited duration," or seasonal employment opportunities, which might be available for hiring at the fair.
Kern's unemployment rate fell to a historically low 6.6 percent in July, an indicator of the strength of the labor market during a period of recovery that's seen a significant worker shortage.