800 job-seekers attend event organized by Rep. Bono Mack

By Aldrich M. Tan
The Desert Sun

La Quinta resident Juan Garza was among 800 people looking for work at a job fair in Indio on Friday.

“This job fair means a new opportunity for me to have self-security – not a wealthy life but a secure one,” said Garza, a 38-year-old who was laid off in April 2008 from construction work. “I hope I get that opportunity.”

Garza arrived about 8 a.m., joining roughly 200 people who showed up nearly two hours before the fair that featured 50 types of jobs ranging from security officers to health care workers.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack hosted the event that she said she organized to connect employers to job seekers and put people back to work in Riverside County, which has a 14.7 percent unemployment rate.

“There is no silver bullet solution to create jobs overnight but I am hopeful that this job fair is a big step forward,” the Palm Springs Republican said at the Riverside County Workforce Development Center on Friday.

This was the first job fair organized by Bono Mack, who said she began planning it less than six months ago with the help of the county’s workforce development board.

Representatives from 22 companies attended, including the U.S. Census Bureau, Time Warner Cable, Wyndham Palm Springs, and the La Quinta Resort and Club.

Augustine Casino had six openings, including a slot attendant, a part-time housekeeper, a restaurant hostess and kitchen worker, human resources recruiter Eddie Garcia said.

Officials for the Coachella casino attended another job fair in October at the Workforce Development Center and hired three people as a result.

“We really love attending these job fairs specifically because we want our locals to have a great place to work,” Garcia said.

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