‘It’s a sign of the times’: Bend job fair yields ‘minimal’ results

St. Charles, Express Employment came looking to fill some of 1,000+ combined jobs; only 16 people showed up

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The staff shortage continues to plague several industries nationwide, and in Central Oregon. St. Charles Health System and Express Employment Professionals held a joint job fair Tuesday in Bend to try to fill positions, but the number of people who showed up fell well short of their goal.

One of the prospective employees who showed up was Karen Miller. For her and her husband, it’s been an unexpected last year and a half.

They were both laid off from their jobs at an office supply store in Bend at the start of the pandemic.

“It was supposed to be a temporary type layoff,” Miller said. “We were hoping to get hired back on. Unfortunately, that didn't happen."

In the meantime, the Millers have been collecting unemployment benefits from the federal government. Like many folks, those benefits have been, well, beneficial.

“I'm thinking, 'I'm making a lot more money now than I was working, so I might as well take advantage of that as long as I can,’” Miller told NewsChannel 21 Tuesday. “Well, now the end is near. Now it's time to get back out there."

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is scheduled to end in just a few weeks, on Sept. 4. That's why the joint job fair in Bend by St. Charles and Express Employment seemed to come at the perfect time.

The two companies have more than 1,000 available positions combined. The job fair was hoped to play a major role in reducing that number, but the numbers did not exactly meet their needs.

Trevor Janeck, the talent acquisition manager for St. Charles, said, "To be able to account for a deficit like that, we would need 400-500 people, and hiring about half of those people to make a solid dent."

But Karen Turner, managing director for Express Employment Professionals, said only 16 people showed up to the job fair over a six-hour window.

With that small of a turnout, Janeck said Tuesday's job fair will have a "minimal" impact on the need.

“We were hoping for a little bit more traction, more candidates coming through," he said. "I think what we're seeing right now is an indication of the times that we're in. The labor pool is short. We don't have a lot of available people to work in many of our entry and mid-level jobs."

Janeck added that health care and affordable housing issues in Central Oregon are working against employers as well.

However, that's not stopping Miller from exploring her options.

“It's time to get back out there,” she said. “Plus, I'm getting a little bored."