ALTOONA, Pa. (WJAC) – Gwen Fisher, Pennsylvania CareerLink’s site administrator for Bedford and Blair Counties said prior to the pandemic many counties in the commonwealth were enjoying some of the lowest unemployment numbers in decades.
“We had historically low unemployment rates and we headed into the spring around 5% and 6% for both Blair and Bedford County.”
Fisher said unemployment numbers skyrocketed when businesses started closing due to the Coronavirus.
“For Blair County at the end of April we were sitting at 17.7% and that is 10,900 people unemployed in Blair County,” she said. “That’s out of a workforce of 61,800 people.”
The numbers were even higher in Bedford County, where 18.3% of the workforce were without jobs at the end of April.
Fisher said CareerLink employees have not stopped helping people find work.
“For all of these months that the facilities have actually been closed, our staff has been working virtually with clients,” Fisher said. “A lot of those folks have taken this time to contact us and say, ‘I’m not sure I’m going to have a job to come back to. I’d like to work on my resume, I’d like to work on a job search.’”
Fisher said workers from a few of the hardest hit industries are eligible for free retraining through the Economic Transition grant.
Food service and retail workers can apply through their local CareerLink office for up to 18 months of training for job in another industry. The grant also covers a portion of living expenses.
“It’s a really terrific opportunity for people to take advantage of and to perhaps go back and retrain for a new industry,” Fisher said.
When CareerLink facilities reopen, Fisher said clients will be able to use the system's computers again, a valuable resource for those without access.
However, the unemployment compensation courtesy line will not be reconnected.
“It’s been difficult for a lot of people to contact unemployment these last few months with all that’s been going on,” Fisher said. “So they might think that they can come in and use that phone, but it is not going to be connected when we open back up.”
Fisher said the Office of Unemployment compensation is overwhelmed with claims right now, so the direct phone access through CareerLink is not something they're ready to take on again.
She said CareerLink is hoping to have its facilities open soon, but she could not provide a precise timeline.
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