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Unemployed? Looking for a job? Here's a resource that can help

Workforce Solutions Capital Area says it saw a spike in unemployment insurance claims recently. Its staff can connect people to resources and jobs.

AUSTIN, Texas — According to the U.S. Department of Labor, a record-breaking 3.28 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week. 

Workforce Solutions Capital Area said Central Texas is seeing a similar situation ever since city and county leaders canceled South by Southwest

"Locally, our unemployment insurance claims spiked around March 17th, 18th. We saw significant increases," said Tamara Atkinson, the CEO of Workforce Solutions Capital Area. "It's gone down a little since then and then will go up a little bit. But we are still seeing record numbers for unemployment insurance claims for our region and for the state." 

Atkinson said staff at Workforce Solutions can help connect people who are unemployed to resources and can help them with career planning. 

"So, someone who may have been laid off or is looking for the next opportunity, we can provide counseling, support and a lot of tools there," said Atkinson. 

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There is a new portion on the website called "Jobs Now." 

Atkinson said it gets updated every hour. As of Thursday, Atkinson said that portion of the website has more than 70 employers looking to hire temporary, part-time and full-time positions. 

"You can see hundreds of job postings from employers that are saying, 'Look, we're still in business and we still want to employ you,'" Atkinson said.

Workforce Solutions can also help people find child care.

"So, when an individual, let's say an essential worker, says I really need childcare in order to go to work, then we can be that resource in order to connect a worker to childcare in our community," she said.

Atkinson said Workforce Solutions is working with the United Way, the City of Austin and Travis County to keep a running list of child care providers in Austin who are still operating and taking new enrollments. 

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