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WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Michael Blalock of Tarrytown crouched before a laptop at a One-Stop Employment Office booth at the county's veterans town hall meeting Tuesday and searched through Westchester job listings curated for local veterans.
"It's definitely helpful and there's a lot of information," said Blalock, 56, who served abroad from 1978 to 1982. "They had a list of interesting positions. And what I do like is you can't look at jobs without uploading your resume, which saves everyone time."
The county unveiled its online job fair for Westchester veterans and returning servicemen at a biannual town hall meeting for veterans Tuesday. A maze of booths run by local American Legion posts, Westchester Veterans of Foreign Wars associations and related non-profits snaked around the Westchester County Center.
Vito Pinto, the director Westchester County's Veterans Service Agency, said unemployment among veterans is really high and the county hopes to combat joblessness among the approximately 49,000 former servicemen in the county.
"During the month of November, we're going to continually try to recruit businesses and municipalities," Pinto said. "We're trying to reach as many young people as possible, given the President's announcement that we'll be out of Iraq by the end of the year."
Businesses can earn up to $9,600 in tax credits for hiring a veteran and those that have expressed interest in doing so are included in the online job database. Pinto said the county aims to match those looking for employment with businesses by skill sets.
County Executive Robert Astorino said the country and Westchester owe it to those who have served in the armed forces to tackle the unemployment rate among veterans.
The county owes its gratitude and thanks to all the troops and veterans, said Astorino.
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