A total of 150 businesses and government agencies showed up at the Job Quest job fair, held at the Blaisdell Center earlier this week. This was an increase from the 135 groups that were in attendance in January 2011. There were also fewer job seekers, with approximately 3,500 people turning out for the event, a decrease from the 5,000 people who attended a year prior. The executive director of Job Quest, Beth Busch, stated, "I'm seeing a turnaround. We have more clients — and not just at the job fair, but every day — who have more openings."
Several employers were doing large-scale hirings including Hawaii Pacific Health which sought to fill 260 positions and Walmart which was looking to hire 300 employees for their new Kapolei store, set to open in the spring. Even more encouraging was the fact that there were several construction companies who were in attendance at Job Quest looking to do some recruiting and hiring.
