Job market not fair to job fair market
With the unemployment rate in the U.S. climbing ever higher, it would seem like a good time to be in the job fair business. But job fair producers are hurting for money, even with attendance up. Renita Jablonski reports.
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Scott Jagow: Job fairs oughta be a hot commodity right now. But actually, not so much. Here’s Renita Jablonski.
Renita Jablonski: Jack Cohen is CEO of JobExpo.com. It’s one of the largest job fair operators in the country. This would seem to be a good time to be in his line of work, but Cohen says the company just went through its own round of layoffs.
Jack Cohen: We had the team up to about 100, 105 people, and now we’re down to about 60.
Job fair producers make money mainly from selling booths and convention space to employers.
JobExpo, for instance, typically charges companies about $1,400. That gets you a table, a sign with your company name, and access to all of the resumes that come in.
Cohen says a fair set for next month in New York will have half the number of employers it did last year.
Cohen: Companies who’ve signed contracts to attend the shows have even called to ask if they can get out.
He says the last time he saw such a hiring slowdown was just after September 11.
I’m Renita Jablonski for Marketplace.