North Texans Flock To Job Fair With Thousands Of Openings
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A job fair sponsored by the Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas attracted more than 1,300 people.
About 350 of them are already on their way to getting hired.
There are still thousands of jobs available.
In this hot job market, companies need workers.
But some people, including Karen Martin, have learned the hard way it can still be difficult to find the right position. "Right now, I'm in need of a job. I got laid off a couple months ago, so I'm out there looking for something.
Martin says it's been difficult to find a sales and merchandising job, so she is open to doing something new. "Kind of tough. Mostly as you get older, it gets harder. That's what I'm finding."
She is among the thousands of people who came to the job fair at Gilley's, where companies are looking to fill 5,000 positions.
Torre Soto, who was in the Navy for two years, has a job as a security guard, but is looking for a profession.
"I'd like to have something more stable and give me an opportunity to move up in the company."
All of the jobs pay a living wage and offer benefits.
Amazon, Walmart, Fed Ex and UPS all need workers because of e-commerce.
With so many people ordering more and more goods online, someone has to deliver them.
At UPS, Tom Mullen, a recruiter says most people start as part-time package handlers, but quickly move up. "The men and women you see in the brown trucks, 6 out of 7 here come from part time package handling positions. A four year driver is now a $100,000 a year job."
As for Martin, she's staying positive. "I'm pretty hopeful. May not be what I want in starting pay, but I'm hopeful. A little is better than nothing at all."
