Calgary Youth Hiring Fair draws 5,700 job seekers

The city says attendance at its annual youth hiring fair at Stampede Park was up by more than 1,000 people, compared with the year before.

An estimated 5,700 young job seekers lined up at the Big Four building on Wednesday to meet with their choice of 80 employers from a variety of industries.

The job sectors represented at the fair included recreation, customer service, hospitality and financial services.

The annualYouthHiringFairis put on by the City of Calgary'sYouthEmployment Centre.

It's the only hiringfairexclusively foryouthaged 15 to 24, who typically have a higher unemployment rate than older Canadians.

In Alberta, the youth unemployment rate was 11.6 per cent in February, 4.3 percentage points higher than the general unemployment rate.

On average over the past two decades, the youth unemployment rate has been 4.6 percentage points higher than the general unemployment rate in the province.

While the hiring fair is now over, the YouthEmployment Centre is open year-round. It operates Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the 2nd Floor at 315 10th Ave. S.E.

It offers free career planning and employment counseling, networking assistance, resume help, interview preparation and industry training.