OESC Hosting Job Fairs To Help Get Oklahomans Back In Workforce

Although businesses are struggling to find enough works, nearly 100,000 Oklahomans are getting unemployment benefits each week.

The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission is hosting large-scale job fairs all over the state to get people back in the workforce.

OESC said hundreds of employers will be at these job fairs because they're in desperate need for new recruits.

"It's an employee market right now, the employees have the upper hand,” said Nicole Fergerson, Business Development Manager at Tulsa's Abundant Solutions.

It's a staffing agency that connects employers and applicants and makes sure employees are a good fit for companies.

Right now, Fergerson said they have 225 jobs open, and it's been a struggle to find recruits for employers.

"Now, we're having to source and really pull out those candidates; we're more of a supplier," she said.

Abundant Solutions is one of hundreds of companies that will be at Oklahoma Employment Security Commission job fairs in the coming weeks.

"We're still seeing a lot of people still on benefits a year," said OESC's Executive Director Shelley Zumwalt.

Zumwalt said about 100,000 Oklahomans are still on unemployment, and many have been using benefits for longer than a year. OESC's focus is now to get people back in the workforce.

"If we have people not re-engaging in the workforce because they don't feel like taking a job right now, that's not really what unemployment is for," Zumwalt said.

Zumwalt said if the state finds out people are turning down jobs, their benefits could be taken away.

"If I find out about that, 99 percent of the time those people won't get benefits,” Zumwalt said.

Zumwalt said things are looking up and she's hopeful these job fairs will help.

There are job fairs being held all over the state and virtually in the next few weeks for all types of jobs, and for different education and skill levels.

Abundant Solutions is hosting a job fair Friday, April 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at their office at 5151 South Mingo Road.

You can find more information on the OESC career fairs below.

1. Tulsa Expo Square, May 6-7
2. McAlester Expo Center, May 10
3. Enid Stride Bank Center, May 12
4. Lawton Hilton Garden Inn, May 14
5. Oklahoma City Convention Center, May 17-18
6. Virtual, May 5-28

To register as an employer, click here and to register as an employee, click here.