Utah’s new Web site links seekers to jobs

The state wants to play matchmaker, even if it has nothing to do with romance.

Aimed at bringing together job-seekers and employers for perhaps a long-lasting relationship, Gov. Mike Leavitt on Monday officially activated http://www.jobs.utah.gov The Web site will be Utah’s version of monster.com or HotJobs, the governor said.

By Brice Wallace
Deseret News business writer

The thousands of job openings and job candidates "translates into thousands of opportunities for those who are motivated to work, those who are out of work or those who are just looking for a change," Leavitt said during a ceremony at United Parcel Service, which helped test the system.

The site will be available for free anytime and will be updated daily. It will offer job-seekers a way to search for positions and find employer contact information. It allows employers to post job openings and conduct customized resume searches. An online "help desk" will handle questions or tackle problems.

The 4,000 positions and 65,000 resumes already in the system are from databases from the Utah Department of Workforce Services, which built and will maintain the site.
However, the available-job total of more than 4,000 is understated, because employers are looking to hire more than just one employee per job listing. The total of job openings actually tops 10,000.

In that total are 200 UPS jobs for the holiday season that need to be filled. The company has 2,438 people handling packages in Utah, plus about 700 workers at a call center.
Stephen Goodrich, the company’s community relations manager in Utah, demonstrated Monday that the Web site determined that 265 people with information already on file with the department are qualified for the new jobs. A click here, a click there, and the company could obtain resume information and pool qualified candidates for possible job interviews.

"We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the department to provide input from the employer point of view, and, as we work together, we hope to make the state a better place," Goodrich said.
The site took more than three years to build, and its $239,000 cost was funded by federal grants. Leavitt said it is one part of his 1,000-day economic plan — the part with the goal of having virtually every state service available online instead of "in line."

The state’s economy likely will rebound only when the national one does, he said. "So this kind of matchmaking is particularly important at a time like this. We’ve carefully laid the groundwork, I believe, in this state for an economic recovery when the national economy does begin to revive, and today’s launch of http://www.jobs.utah.gov is just one more ingredient in being able to make us imminently ready for that recovery," he said.

"The number of job openings on the Web site demonstrates there are many Utah companies who are doing just fine. In fact, many are prospering during a difficult period. These companies are playing a huge part in our recovery economically, especially when we can connect them with people who need work."

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