Employers struggle to fill jobs in booming economy


Kyle Arnold
February 28, 2008 - 6:29AM
McALLEN — Jobseekers were plentiful at Wednesday City of McAllen Job Fair 2008, but 3,000 people may not be enough to fill the voracious appetite of a growing local economy.

Unemployment rates in the Upper Rio Grande Valley are on a steady decline, 6.6 percent in December, and employers say it’s becoming more difficult to find workers.

That prompted about 85 employers to seek workers at the job fair Wednesday at the McAllen Convention Center. It’s the second year McAllen has hosted the event. About 3,000 people were expected at the event, about 25 percent less than last year’s event.

The job fair was designed to help the employers as much as jobseekers, said WorkForce Solutions CEO Bonnie Gonzalez.

“This is the first time ever that we are dealing with such low unemployment,â€