A steady flow of people looking for work or looking for a new opportunity browsed the positions available from an array of industries and educational organizations.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Hundreds of people looking to advance their careers or get into the workforce browsed through an array of available jobs at the Berkshire Works annual job fair Wednesday.
The annual event had such a demand for employers to showcase their opportunities that Stephanie Hambelton, business service representative for Berkshire Works, said there was a wait list. The Crowne Plaza's space restricted the number of vendors to 66 and there were still employers looking to participate.
"Clearly there are jobs and clearly there are job seekers. There are people who need work and there are also people who are already working and looking for something better or a second position. It is important for an event like this to make that connection," Hambelton said.
"There is work and there are people looking for work so we are giving the opportunity to put the two together."
A steady flow of job seekers meandered in and out of the tables feature all employers with at least one available job.
"Every employer here today actually has jobs posted with us currently. They all have open positions and that was a point I made important. Their ticket into the fair was that they have open positions," Hambelton said.
The number of employers is on par with other years and job seekers ranged from those who are unemployed to those who are looking for a change.
"I've gotten some great feedback from the employers already, some great compliments. They are telling me the flow is great. They are telling me the job seekers are the best dressed that they've seen in a while. I emphasized that to job seekers as well," Hambelton said.
As of 10 a.m., just an hour after it began, the fair was looking to be one of the best the organization has put on with a goal of breaking last year's number of job seekers attending. Hambelton said they included not only those who participated in programs offered by the Berkshire Works Career Center but also an array of people who had heard about the job fair.
"There are people here, and I've been with the Career Center for three years, that I don't see on a daily basis, that I've never seen," Hambelton said.
The Career Center, she said, was packed on Tuesday with job seekers printing out resumes to bring to the fair. The jobs spanned industries and included youth services and educational institutions.
The job market has been showing an increase in local months, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. In August, the unemployment rate for the Pittsfield metropolitan region dropped to 3.9 percent, according to August reports, dropping from 4.2 percent last month and down from 5 percent this time last year. The North Adams region also showed decreased unemployment from 6.2 percent last year to 5 percent this year. The Great Barrington region dropped to 2.9 percent from 3.5 percent last August.
BerkshireJobs, iBerkshires' job search site, has more than 300 jobs posted for the Berkshire County region.
Adjusted for seasonal employment, the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reports a statewide nemployment rate of 3.9 percent with unemployment rates dropping in 22 labor markets. In the last year, it is estimated that the state added 68,100 new jobs.
The goal of the job fair is to continue that progress by connecting those unemployed with work and giving opportunities for those in the workforce to find better jobs.
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Central Berkshire School Officials OK $35M Budget
By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School Committee approved a $35 million budget for fiscal 2025 during its meeting on Thursday.
Much of the proposed spending plan is similar to what was predicted in the initial and tentative budget presentations, however, the district did work with the Finance subcommittee to further offset the assessments to the towns, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said.
"What you're going see in this budget is a lower average assessment to the towns than what you saw in the other in the tentative budget that was approved," she said.
The fiscal 2025 budget is $35,428,892, a 5.56 percent or $1,867,649, over this year's $33,561,243.
"This is using our operating funds, revolving revenue or grant revenue. So what made up the budget for the tentative budget is pretty much the same," Director of Finance and Operations Gregory Boino said.
"We're just moving around funds … so, we're using more of the FY25 rural aid funds instead of operating funds next year."
Increases the district has in the FY25 operating budget are from active employee health insurance, retiree health insurance, special education out-of-district tuition, temporary bond principal and interest payment, pupil transportation, Berkshire County Retirement contributions, and the federal payroll tax.
The students have also been able to build friendships and experience new things, such as dancing for community events, taking a trip to Ireland and participating in competitions.
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Because of this, traffic will be reduced to one lane of travel on First Street (U.S. Route 7) and North Street between Burbank Street and Abbott Street from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday through at least May 6.
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Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Thursdsay with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
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Taylor Garabedian scored a team-high 22 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Abby Scialabba scored 16 points for the ‘Canes, who got 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists from Ashlyn Lesure. click for more