The Utah Department of Workforce Services (DWS) has launched a campaign to help match the unemployed with available jobs. The two-pronged approach includes the “UT Job Support” media campaign and a “Hot Jobs” web portal. With the Dec. 31 end of many federal COVID-related job benefits the department said it “doesn’t want anyone to wait until this date to find their next job opportunity.”
“The impact of the pandemic has left many scrambling for employment as their previous line of work seeks to recover from the pandemic. The challenge becomes real when they may not be able to return to work before their benefits run out,” said Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox at an event kicking off the program. “We don’t want anyone left standing on Jan. 1 with no benefits and no job. There are opportunities out there in multiple industries that are hiring today. We just need to connect people to these opportunities.”
The UT Job Support campaign will help spread the message of the importance of not waiting for benefits to run out and to start looking for job opportunities that are available right now, the department said. DWS will have a series of television spots, online ads, outdoor billboards and radio ads to help connect people to the new Hot Jobs web portal at jobs.utah.gov. Industry organizations with employers that are hiring have helped identify the top five jobs that have openings. These jobs are listed along with employers that have jobs posted in industries such as construction, finance and banking, health, manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, information technology and life sciences.
“The key to Utah’s economic recovery is getting people employed,” said Taylor Randall, economic recovery lead for Utah’s Unified Response Team and dean of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. “This happens by strengthening consumer confidence and connecting people to the jobs that are available. In some cases, this means taking advantage of what is available rather than waiting for previous employment to come back.”
