‘We want to make sure we keep the jobs here’: Westmoreland job fair series to launch at Hempfield casino

Job seekers in Westmoreland County will have a new avenue to search for employment starting this month.

Pennsylvania CareerLink and the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce will host monthly regional job fairs at Live Casino Pittsburgh in Hempfield, with the first slated for Oct. 15.

Employers from a variety of industries will be present, said Dan DeBone, president and CEO of the county’s chamber of commerce — ranging from manufacturing plants to correctional facilities to nonprofits that assist people struggling with addiction.

“The one thing that (employers) all have in common … is that the vast majority of them are looking for employees,” DeBone said. “We’re all looking, we’re all hoping and we’re all seeking.”

With the first job fair about two weeks away, the organizers are looking for more employers to participate, said Janice Albright, administrator at Pennsylvania CareerLink — a program that helps connect job seekers and employers.

“There’s not a huge field yet,” she said, “but there’s health care, there’s service, there’s manufacturing.”

Job openings are not hard to come by in Westmoreland, Albright said. An array of positions are available in manufacturing, warehouses and health care — including nurse aids and social service workers.

“Those are the ones (where) you are going to see multiple jobs,” she said. “There’s jobs in almost any industry that somebody can find. It’s just going to be more difficult for somebody to find (an opening) if there’s only one of that position available in every company.”

County unemployment

About 7,500 people were unemployed across the county in August, according to the state Department of Labor & Industry. This is an unemployment rate of 4.2%.

Although this matches the national unemployment rate, it surpasses the state rate of 3.4%. It is the fourth highest August rate in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area — which includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette and Washington counties.

Albright suspects Westmoreland’s aging population has also contributed to an increase in job openings.

The median age of residents across the county in 2020 was 47, according to U.S. Census data. This is about three years older than the previous decade and seven years older than the 2020 state average.

The county’s population decreased by more than 10,000 people between 2010 and 2020, according to the Census.

“I think you have an older population, so you have people leaving the workforce,” Albright said. “I think there are more opportunities becoming available in Westmoreland County to keep people here.”

Consistent approach

DeBone is hopeful the job fair series will give Westmoreland a positive reputation for employment opportunities.

“If we start to initiate some consistency each month, people say ‘I can’t go to the career fair this month, but I can go next month,’” he said.

The chamber’s young professionals group also aims to accomplish this. About 60 young adults gather quarterly to learn about employment opportunities in the county and other career topics — like saving for retirement, financial literacy, emotional intelligence, leadership and more, DeBone said.

“We want to make sure we regrow that population,” he said. “We want to make sure we keep the jobs here.”

Live Casino will open its Venue Live space free of charge to the job fair each month, DeBone said.

Albright believes having the job fairs at the casino will lead to an increased turnout.

“We normally did job fairs here (at CareerLink), but (the casino) is centrally located, and they can hold so many more people,” she said. “We’re hoping it’s going to be a very good thing.”

The job fairs will run from noon to 3 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month for the foreseeable future.

“We’re going to keep it as long as we can,” Albright said. “We’re just going to hope that it’s successful.”