A job fair at the Prince of Orange Mall will feature about 50 employers.

The fair, free and open to the public, will be held from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Oct. 30.

Employers will include Blue Cross-Blue Shield, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Food Lion, Laurel Baye Healthcare, the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office, the Regional Medical Center and South Carolina Bank and Trust.

If history is any indicator, and in light of the economic times, this fair will probably see a larger draw, said John Timmons, South Carolina Department of Social Services program manager for work force development.

Last year the fair drew about 1,000, Timmons said.

The job fair, in its fifth year, is typically well attended in a region where unemployment numbers have often been among the highest in the state.

The latest unemployment numbers, reported in September, were 12.5 percent in Orangeburg County, ranking the county sixth in unemployment of the 46 counties in the state.

Bamberg Countys unemployment rate was 13.6 percent, ranking it second in the state behind another T&D Region county of Allendale.

Allendale County was ranked first with an unemployment rate of 16.9 percent.

Barnwell County had an unemployment rate of 12.7 percent.

Calhoun County had an unemployment rate for September of 9.2 percent, ranking it 20th in the state.

Statewide, the latest unemployment rate is 7.3 percent.

Event officials cite The T&D Region as a soon-to-be-growing job marketplace with Dubai-based Jafza Internationals plans to build a 1,300-acre logistics and distribution hub near Santee, Starbucks Coffee Co.s plans to add 160 full-time jobs by 2009 and Eastman Chemical Co.s plans to invest $100 million to expand its operations in Calhoun County.

Government Training Institute Inc., which specializes in training in the fields of anti-terrorism, announced in July it was relocating GTIs corporate headquarters to Denmark.

Formerly of Eagle, Idaho, GTI Inc. will move into the former NIBCO plant. The relocation of the five-year-old company to Denmark will bring approximately 15 jobs. The company already operates an advanced tactical training facility in Barnwell County.

Transportation to the fair will be provided at no cost by the Santee Wateree Regional Transportation Authority and the Orangeburg County Department of Disabilities and Special Needs from the following locations.

Departure times are:

Bamberg County DSS -- 8:15 a.m.

Calhoun County DSS -- 9:15 a.m.

Roosevelt Garden Apartments -- 9:45 a.m.

Glenfield Apartments -- 9:50 a.m.

Transportation service from the Prince of Orange will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Food Lion in Santee at 671 Bass Drive -- 9:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. departure run from the Prince of Orange Mall.

In addition to the fair, the Harvest Hope Food Bank will be accepting nonperishable goods.

The job fair is sponsored by the Prince of Orange Mall and state and local agencies.

Employers can still sign up to participate in the fair. For more information, contact Timmons at803-898-0967.

You must be logged in to comment.