C.J. Gish
CareerSource of North Central Florida and Alachua County will hold a job fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the Gainesville Career Center (1112 N. Main Street).
The fair will focus on government positions for the county with openings in multiple departments like Community & Support Services, Solid Waste & Resource Recovery, Fire Rescue, Animal Resources & Care and Court Services.
The Alachua County Board of County Commissioners has heard about staff shortages over the past year. Commissioner Raemi Eagle-Glenn even said staffing needs formed part of her dissenting vote to start a new rental permit program that will require additional positions.
In August, Alachua County had an unemployment rate of 2.7%—equal to the state average—with a labor force of 140,094, according to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. Monroe County came in with the lowest unemployment rate of 1.7% while Hendry County had the highest with 5.6%.
The state will release the preliminary September 2022 numbers on Oct. 21.
You can view Alachua County job openings online. Positions include environmental professional engineers, fleet technicians, code officers and multiple EMT positions.
Alachua County Fire Rescue took Rescue 24 offline in June, citing staff shortages as a cause.
During an August meeting, Assistant County Manager Kirby Smart said job openings remain for Animal Resources & Care, but the department had filled several positions since June and was in the process of onboarding a new director, three animal control officers and a kennel technician
Alachua County Public Schools will also hold a job fair from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multipurpose Center. Find details online.