Employers hired over 250 people at JobFest 2021, and they’re not done yet

Gov. Steve Sisolak’s office announced Friday afternoon that 251 of the 2,100 job seekers who attended Tuesday’s JobFest 2021 at the Las Vegas Convention Center left with a job. Employers conducted multiple stages of interviews and expect to hire hundreds more applicants in the coming weeks, the office said in a release, citing initial reports from employers.

Sisolak called the event “an incredible success, helping to cement Nevada’s place leading the nation in hiring rate.” The fair drew 182 Nevada employers who were hiring for more than 16,000 open positions. Sisolak said in an interview before the event that the show had 2,500 pre-registered people.

Sisolak put on the job fair along with Nevada JobConnect, the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. JobFest 2021 also included skills training and COVID-19 and flu vaccinations, with 146 people receiving vaccinations.

Employers who didn’t hire on the spot conducted 1,200 interviews “and are thrilled with the talent pool of attendees,” the release said.

Employers at the job fair included Amazon, Arizona Charlie’s, Boyd Gaming Corp., Caesars Entertainment Inc., Clark County, the state of Nevada, MGM Resorts International, Clark County School District, Las Vegas Urban League, University Medical Center and Vegas PBS.

Amazon interviewed 200 people at the fair and Walgreens conducted more than 100 interviews, hired 20 at the fair and expects to hire 30 more people based on those interviews, the release said.

The employment department determined it was the state’s largest job fair by number of employers and open positions.

The governor’s office encouraged people who didn’t attend the job fair to visit EmployNV.gov to search job openings or visit a Nevada JobConnect office.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.