(Norwalk, CA) Today, Rep. Grace F. Napolitano, along with Norwalk Workforce Services and other community groups, hosted a veterans job and resource fair at the Norwalk Arts and Sports Complex in Norwalk to assist veterans and other job-seekers in finding work. More than 200 people attended the event, which featured hiring employers, job training opportunities, and free haircuts and health screenings from the Veterans Administration’s mobile clinic.

“This job fair is an opportunity to not only help vets but all of those looking for work,” Napolitano said. “In this economy there are many hardworking people who are out of a job through no fault of their own, and it is important that we use all of the resources in the community to help them find employment.”

The job fair was open to all interested job-seekers, but the services offered were primarily aimed at veterans, a group that experiences especially high unemployment. All private employers were hiring for open positions.

“These job fairs are incredibly important,” said Michael Dolphin, Division Chief of Employment Development Department. “Job-seekers have the opportunity to connect with those employers in a different way rather than in the job interview process.”

“I think it’s a great thing for the community and for everybody who’s unemployed for a chance to make something of themselves,” said job-seeker Joseph Gonzalez.

According to a recent study by the Center for a New American Security, approximately 12.7 percent of veterans who served in the military since 2001were unemployed last month, compared with a jobless rate of 7.7 percent for all non-veterans.

“Our veterans and their families have made great sacrifices for us, and we must do everything we can to assist them in finding work,” Napolitano said.

# # #