Garland County hosting job fair Thursday, Friday

Garland County is looking for corrections officers, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators and laborers — positions it hopes to fill during the job fair it’s hosting Thursday and Friday.

Job seekers can apply at the county’s Department of Emergency Management, 401 Mid America Blvd., Thursday from 7-11 a.m. and Friday from 1-5 p.m. Garland County Judge Darryl Mahoney said the county has about 30 unfilled, full-time positions. The jobs pay $12 to $16 an hour and include benefits.

More information is available by calling 651-7766 or emailing valerie@garlandcounty.org.

Mahoney said the road department has the most openings, with eight of the more than 50 full-time positions in its $6.36 million budget unfilled. The department is also looking for seasonal workers.

“I think a (job fair) is a great idea,” Mahoney said. “We’re going to try and reach out to some people who may not be aware what we offer. People are just not looking for work, and we’re definitely looking for employees.”

The Garland County Quorum Court Finance Committee

discussed the tight labor market earlier this month, expressing its frustration that numerous private sector jobs are unfilled. Mahoney told the committee many people are taking the summer off, explaining that direct federal government payments and the extension of enhanced unemployment benefits through early September have discouraged work.

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan extended the $300 a week of enhanced unemployment benefits through the summer. It also provided a $1,400 stimulus check for people with adjusted gross incomes of up to $75,000 and an additional $1,400 for each dependent, regardless of the dependent’s age.

“I think that’s a big part of it,” Mahoney, referring to how government largesse has tightened the labor market, said Monday. ”We’re seeing our local businesses struggle to hire employees. I can’t imagine what it would be other than some of them are not wanting to get back in the job market after being laid off. I do feel like the enhanced unemployment and the stimulus checks are keeping people away from work.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ preliminary February jobs report for the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Garland County, showed a 6.8% unemployment rate. Excluding the second through fourth quarters of

2020 and the first two months of

2021’s first quarter, the county’s jobless rate hasn’t been above 5% since January 2016.

The county’s February unemployment rate was higher than the state’s 4.5% rate and the country’s 6.2% rate. The 2,808 unemployed in the county were the most since February 2014, excluding the 11 months from April

2020 to February. The county’s number of unemployed peaked at 6,144 last April, when the county had a 15% unemployment rate.