Dozens of exhibitors attend veteran job fair at State Farm Stadium

Veteran job fair held in the West Valley

The event, which was exclusively catered to service members transitioning to civilian life, veterans and military spouses, brought dozens of exhibitors. FOX 10's Stephanie Olmo reports.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - Unemployment rate in Arizona currently stands at 6.6%, which is about a point higher than the national average. However, unemployment among veterans is improving, with the rate dropping to 3.8% in August.

Currently, many local companies continue looking to hire veterans, and on Sept. 23, RecruitMilitary hosted a an exclusive career fair at State Farm Stadium that was open to transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses.

60 exhibitors took part in the event, and they were looking to fill positions in Phoenix and across the country.

"Many of the exhibitors here today are veterans themselves, have served in the military or definitely connected to the military community, so a lot of times, they know that kind of that background, and are really able to understand when someone is trying to articulate what they did in the military, and how that can possibly correlate with a civilian career," said event director Jen Hadac.

Hadac says the event is all about building connections.

"I hope people walk away, of course, with a job today. That's the number one priority, but really, having that confidence knowing that their skill sets are in demand and really critical during this time," said Hadac.

Some vets had difficult time finding suitable job following military service

For Navy veteran Matt Ashby, finding a job after leaving the military in 2019 has not been easy.

"I was doing security and protection for assets that they had there, and the transition was tough," said Ashby. "Trying to find something that fit those skills, and the training I received to be able to use that and to continue to use that has been really tough."

The job hunt also became more difficulty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. After months of filling out many online applications, Ashby hopes talking to employers in person would leave more of an impression.

"People can kind of see me and get to know me a little bit more than just an application," said Ashby. "I think my application looks good, but you can stand out more in person, which is nice."