![The event is fully virtual for the first time, and it will continue that way in the future. [Cuyahoga County Virtual Career Fair]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/84cc101/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1551x871+0+0/resize/840x472!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F6%2F17%2Fjob%20expo.jpg)
A week-long virtual job fair is underway with Ohio Means Jobs Cleveland-Cuyahoga County. The event shifted online due to the coronavirus pandemic and may stay that way even after public health concerns have passed.
About 2,500 people have participated in the job fair as of Wednesday, said Anthony Fluellen, Director of Business Services with OMJ-CC and United Labor Agency. That’s above and beyond the turnout expected at in-person fairs, Fluellen said.
“This is a much more efficient way of doing job fairs,” Fluellen said. “We’ll be doing this going forward.”
The organization’s largest event last year brought in about 1,400 people over five days, Fluellen said. The largest single-day event brought 350 people.
The online portal allows participants to upload resumes and view open listings, Fluellen said. Employers can host Zoom meetings, other livestreams and live chats with applicants.
The shift to virtual allows attendees to save money on gas and childcare while they search for jobs, Fluellen said.
“They’ll be able to reach a lot more employers than normally,” Fluellen said. “And on the employers’ side, they will get access to a lot more candidates than they would normally get.”
About 90 businesses and partner agencies are also participating in the event, Fluellen said, which is more than double what OMJ-CC has seen previously. Nearly 400 jobs were listed as of Wednesday morning.
Unemployment has been on the rise in Ohio during the coronavirus pandemic. The state has paid $4.1 billion to 699,000 out-of-work Ohioans in the last 90 days, and is now turning to the federal government for additional funds.
The virtual job fair runs through Friday.
