Employers across Jefferson County are working to fill dozens of vacancies, and some are one step closer to filling those positions through a special job fair. It gives some residents a second chance.
Nearly 1,300 people came to the Bessemer Civic Center for the hiring fair Thursday. Some of them are justice-impacted, which means having a record makes it difficult for them to find employment.
Right now, according to Indeed, there are more than 10,000 jobs available across the Metro Birmingham area. There were 25 companies hiring and 15 service providers present. This is the fifth year that Bessemer cut off district attorney Lynniece Washington hosted the fair, and the first with U.S. Pipe as a sponsor.
Bryan Odom was incarcerated for four years. After his release in 2020, he went to the same hiring fair. He now works for Expedited Transport Agency and is now giving others the opportunity to turn their lives around.
“My whole life, I didn’t think it was possible,” Odom said. “I thought it was always me staying on this side of the fence instead of jumping over to the other side and being successful. I always felt myself as a loser, and I know how people think when they’re in that position — when they’re in that, ‘Hey, I want to give up. I want to quit now.’ I can show them that this is how you do it. This is what I did. Put God first and he will lead the way.”
When asked about why the number of job openings across the metro area, the Birmingham Business Alliance said there are three reasons. The first is the labor force participation rate.
That’s the number of people who are actively working and the number of people who are actively looking for a job. Right now, that includes 61% of people across seven Central Alabama counties.
Another factor is unemployment. The BBA said the unemployment rate jumped down for the state overall 0.7% from March to April. It doesn’t sound like a lot but considering the national rate 4.2% it’s significant.
The last factor is the availability. The metro area experienced an increase in month-to-month job growth since March, but Tatianna Turrentine-Long said it’s hard to keep track of the number of job openings because the market is constantly changing.
“With your retail trade industries, with hospitality, restaurants where there is volatile turnover, you’re going to see job postings for every potential position for every single different location for your typical McDonald’s and Burger King. That is going to obviously influence the number of job openings that are available, but of course, that isn’t necessarily reflected in every single industry like tech or manufacturing,” Turrentine-Long said.
Turrentine-Long said people needing to leave the workforce for different reasons can also affect these numbers. Recent instances of federal and manufacturing layoffs happening locally also play a small role.
Updated at 1:50 p.m. on 6/9/2025 to correct the television station.
