MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) -- Hundreds of people looking for jobs attended a city-run hiring hall in Manhattan on Thursday.
Kevin Keegan, 23, was one of them. He calls the city’s job market challenging. The NYU grad has been looking for work for more than a year.
"It's been tough. I have friends with master's degrees and PhDs and they can’t find work," Keegan said. "I started back in November applying for jobs online trying to find something."
The hiring hall was held at the Polo Grounds Cornerstone Community Center in Hamilton Heights.
The hiring hall, which was hosted by the New York City Department of Small Business Services, connected employers with potential workers and resulted in on-site interviews and job offers.
The city said the goal of the halls is the address the city’s 5.4% unemployment rate.
"Sometimes you need to take it to the people. So we are delivering these events in the highest unemployment zip codes -- one in each zip code -- and we’re bringing a whole of government approach," said Dynishal Gross, the commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services.
It was the 31st hiring hall the city has hosted this year alone. Around 10,000 people have attended and 1,200 job offers have been made.
Naomi Delos Santos was at Thursday’s event. She is with Destiny’s Services that staffs for CFTSS, a program that helps underserved communities. She calls attending the hall a no-brainer for anyone seeking work.
"A lot of the job is done for you. The agencies are here - you have a plethora of organizations that are looking for people they want to hire on the spot or later on, so it’s a great opportunity to see what's in the community," she said.
In the end, Delos Santos ended up filling the two positions she had available, not only by hiring Keegan but also 29-year-old Ivani McPhee.
Keegan said he was ecstatic. McPhee added, "I feel amazing I'm really proud of myself that I kept doing the legwork and I got something within the New York City government."
Both Keegan and McPhee were thrilled to walk away from the event with a new job. They encourage anyone who is looking to also attend.
The city’s next hiring hall is in January. For more information, click here.
