SAN ANTONIO – There has been a lot of discussion around the economy, interest rates, and jobs, but what impact do we see here in our community?
Workforce Solutions Alamo CEO Adrian Lopez joined Leading SA to explain the employment landscape and programs working to find people jobs.
“Today we’re at approximately 4% unemployment. Pre-pandemic, there was about three and a half percent. We’re seeing a lot of growth in all of the major industries that we actually support. If you look at Texas, we’re on par with what’s happening in terms of the unemployment level with Texas from approximately May of 2021 to May of 2022. Texas added about 750,000 jobs locally here we probably added about 50 plus thousand jobs. And there’s a lot of sort of really great gains in all of the sectors that we’re supporting,” Lopez said.
In some parts of the country, there are more people than jobs. Here in our area, there appears to be a skills gap.
“In this region, we actually have a 1 to 5 ratio, which means that for somebody retiring, there’s actually five people available to fill those positions. But again, it’s really about a skills gap,” Lopez said.
San Antonio is one of the parts of the country that has benefitted the most over the last two years, with more businesses moving here and expanding. This influx of opportunities has led to more jobs.
“We are benefiting from companies that are relocating from other parts of the country and for that matter, even offshore. I think in Texas and where there last year we had about 70 major corporations that were relocated to Texas for this area… They’re creating, you know, a few thousand jobs within the next 12 to 18 months. And those are really good paying, you know, high wage jobs,” Lopez said.
To help as many families as possible, there is a new partnership between Workforce Solutions Alamo and the San Antonio Food Bank.
“We see the numbers of thousands of people who are lined up to seek out food assistance and our and our most vulnerable time, that’s where we want to be. And that’s what this partnership actually represents. The power of partnership between Workforce Solutions Alamo and the San Antonio Food Bank. So we have a satellite office that now is operating there. So as people are receiving food and signing up for benefits, they also have an opportunity to actually receive services from Workforce Solutions Alamo,” Lopez said.
If you are looking for a job, there is a unique job fair coming up called Red, White, and You. For more information on the job fair, CLICK HERE.