North Tonawanda job fair highlights 'enormous resurgence'

With the national economy continuing to show strong growth and record low unemployment, Niagara County leaders are taking steps to ensure that trend continues in the region by holding career fairs such as the one held on Wednesday in North Tonawanda.

The County Legislature and Niagara County Director of Employment and Training Donald Jablonski note the national unemployment rate is less than 4% – a rate Jablonski said he is “determined to strengthen” locally.

“The County Legislature has directed employment and training to make our resources fully available to our county’s residents as they go job hunting,” he said.

Jablonski and his team have organized several job fairs since he was appointed as director in 2016. In that time, he has led efforts to pair up hundreds of unemployed and underemployed workers with companies that need their talent.

The Niagara County Legislature’s Majority Leader Randy Bradt, R-North Tonawanda, who owns and manages an accounting firm in the city, considers career fairs to be highly effective.

“We are seeing an enormous resurgence of development in North Tonawanda, and business owners are realizing that,” he said. As more businesses choose North Tonawanda as their home, the need to identify qualified workers continues to rise. Career fairs are a vital bridge to connecting individuals and companies which proves beneficial to both.”