Friday, October 30, 2009

Marketing yourself amongst Fresno's high unemployment

In an US News article, Fresno was noted as one of the cities suffering with some of the highest rates of unemployment. At over 15%, the city is in the company of other communities made up of younger people and immigrants such as Modesto, Stockton and Redding. On the other side, cities like Arlington, VA and Anchorage, AK have grown during the recession due to strong industries-- energy and government, respectively.

Before you pack your bags for Alaska to get a place where you can 'see Russia from your house', there are opportunities to better market yourself that will you help you snag that new job.

Just Pay 20%
The County of Fresno, Fresno Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and other organizations and agencies have teamed to implement the federal Economic Stimulus 80/20 Program. The 80/20 Program will pay 80 percent of the cost to hire a new employee for a year including salary, training, insurance and even uniforms. The employer pays the remaining 20 percent. The employer cannot have laid off workers in the past 90-days and the new employee must be a CalWorks recipient. Watch the ABC-30 News Story.

Market Tax Credit to Pay Your Salary
Depending on where you live and where you potential employer is located, you could be worth thousands of dollars of tax credit for that business. Search the Fresno tax credit map to see if you are eligible.

While times are tough, there are still thousands of jobs out here in Fresno. Sites like http://www.careersinthevalley.com has hundreds of locally posted jobs on a daily basis.