Bedford, IN— Today, Congressman Steve Buyer (IN-04) and State Representative Eric Koch announced that they will co-host the 2008 Hoosier Job Fair.  The announcement was made this morning in the Expo Hall at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds. 

“This job fair will help match Hoosiers that are eager to find jobs with businesses that are searching for workers and help fulfill the needs of both groups.  Initiating the meeting between potential employers and employees is a strong first step to creating opportunity and growth for Indiana’s economy.  I would like to thank the Lawrence County Fairgrounds for providing a forum for this to take place.”  Mr. Buyer stated. 

With the impending closure of the Visteon plant in Bedford, many workers in southern Indiana will soon find themselves unemployed.  However, there are also businesses expanding and opening in the area.  Congressman Buyer and Representative Koch are hosting the job fair to help these people, as well as other job-hunting Hoosiers, to find jobs that match their skills with the needs of employers in the area. 

The job fair will take place on Monday, March 3, 2008, from 9:00 am until 3:00 p.m. in the Expo Hall at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds in Bedford.  It will be held in cooperation with Indiana WorkOne, the Bedford Chamber of Commerce and the Lawrence County Fairgrounds. 
 
The event will be free to both businesses and job-seekers.  Businesses who would like to participate should contact Michelle Price in Congressman Buyer’s Plainfield District Office at (317) 838-0404 or visit his website at www.stevebuyer.house.gov to sign up. 

Congressman Buyer has hosted five successful job fairs in the past, two of which were held in Bloomington, one in 2005 and another in 2006.  This will be the first time that Congressman Buyer will team up with State Representative Koch to co-host the event.  Each of the past job fairs have been very successful with an average of 90 businesses and 1,600 being offered with an average of 1,000 job-seekers at each event.  Of the employers that were polled at the job fair held in Bloomington in July 2006, 98% said that they would be hiring somebody that they had met at the job fair and 20 people were hired on the spot. 

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