Want a job with that? A Rock Hill event could land you a job without leaving the car.
State job experts want to put people looking for work in the driver seat.
As employment trends rebound toward pre-COVID-19 levels, job experts want to make the connection between employers and potential hires even easier. For one Rock Hill event, people searching for jobs won’t even have to get out of their cars.
“This pandemic has made it more difficult for our employers to find employees,” said Deb White, regional manager for SC Works Lower Savannah. “Our traditional ways of hosting job fairs and hiring events were no longer considered safe options, we decided to host a drive-thru event to let job seekers know that there is still opportunity out there during this pandemic.”
Drive-thru, open air and virtual job fairs are new options that came with the need to fill jobs while keeping distant. South Carolina went from record low to record high unemployment just in March. Groups like SC Works and the state Department of Employment and Workforce initially focused on the wave of unemployment. Then as more types of business reopened, hiring took on a higher level of importance.
What traditionally were in-person services like resume building seminars and job search training quickly went to full virtual models. While work agencies still offer many in-person services, distance options have been popular. Almost 30 employers and 250 people seeking jobs have participated in drive-thru events. More than 90 employers and 1,200 potential employees have participated in various virtual options.
On Aug. 27, a drive-thru event will come to Rock Hill. The 4-7 p.m. job fair will be held at York Technical College. Drive-thru events allow people to remain in vehicles and receive a bag of local job applications and information.
For more information, visit scworks.org.
The Rock Hill event comes as more people find new or resume work during the coronavirus pandemic. The week ending Aug. 8 saw 210 unemployment claims in York County. The peak week in April saw 3,374 claims. Unemployment in York, Lancaster and Chester counties has been higher than normal, as it has across South Carolina, since mid-March when social distancing caused many businesses to stop or alter operations.
From healthcare (including coronavirus testing) to graduation celebrations last spring, eating out at restaurants or even church, many typical in-person services have gone to drive-through or in-car options since the pandemic COVID-19 began. Coronavirus cases remained high through the summer compared to sprint totals in York County, though last week numbers showed some decline.
Since March, there have been more than 3,700 confirmed or probably COVID-19 cases in York County. There have been 32 coronavirus deaths.
