Hospitality focus of May 4 job fair

The Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau will host a hospitality industry job fair from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. May 4 at the Statehouse Convention Center.

The “Big On Little Rock Hospitality Industry Job Fair” will feature representatives from sectors like restaurants, hotels and event venues seeking employees qualified for a variety of jobs, according to a news release sent Thursday.

“As COVID clouds begin to clear, the state’s hospitality industry needs more workers to help regain its position as a $7.4 billion economic force in Arkansas,” Gretchen Hall, bureau president and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “The Big On Little Rock Hospitality Industry Job Fair represents the best opportunity yet for workers who lost their jobs in 2020 as well those Arkansans looking to enter the hospitality workforce for the first time.”

The bureau’s tax receipts and events at its venues plummeted last year because of the covid-19 outbreak, according to the organization’s recently released annual report.

Last year was supposed to see a celebration of the bureau’s 50th anniversary, but the organization will recognize “50+1” at a news conference to open the job fair, according to the release.