Angelenos look for city work amid higher unemployment numbers
Spectrum News Article by Chace Beech Inglewood, Apr. 04, 2024
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Across California people are looking for work. In the most recent jobs analysis and report from the California Employment Development Department, the state unemployment rate was up to 5.3%. California now has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Across the U.S. the unemployment rate is 3.9%. Bryce Koonce, 24, is one of the people in the state looking for a job. For the past few months, he has looked for steady, stable work that could become a career.
“It’s been a little depressing. I’m not going to lie. The fact that I’m trying to sustain myself, and why is it so hard? Just to sustain myself,” Koonce said.
He does, however, have a dream role in mind: as a sanitation worker or as a street services employee for the City of LA. Koonce said he sees a city job as a long-term career.
“Something that I know will last. That’s one of my big concerns. Living out here is not cheap, looking for something I enjoy, as well as something that can sustain me has always been a big factor when it comes to joining the city,” he said.
Koonce has been working with the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, a nonprofit dedicated to connecting Black Angelenos with well-paid and well-protected jobs. He’s part of a youth cohort and has participated in trainings meant to help him and others get connected to city jobs. However, making those connections and getting people hired has at times proved to be challenging.
Na’ Desha Enoch, the Ready to Work coordinator with the Los Angeles Black Worker Center, said collaborating with the city has had its hurdles.
“I don’t think anyone is looking at the program and saying let’s see who is available, let’s put them into jobs,” she said.
However, Enoch said there do seem to be some changes. Last week, members of the Los Angeles Black Worker Center met with Mayor Karen Bass to discuss their training programs, the delays in hiring and next steps.
“We’re excited. Mayor Karen Bass said she was in support of our program and the work we are doing here. She personally asked for a list of individuals who aren’t working and are waiting for jobs,” Enoch said.
In a statement shared with Spectrum News, Zach Seidl, deputy mayor of communications, said: “Right after the Mayor was elected, we found very quickly that the city has problems with hiring pathways and we took urgent action. Since then, more than 3,500 positions were filled with new employees with the help of recruiting at citywide careers fairs and hiring programs that help break down barriers to city employment.”
“It is vital that Black workers have access to jobs offered by the City and across the city and the Mayor will continue work to make sure the current economic picture does not roll back that commitment," Seidl added.
Bryce Koonce said there are plenty of people like him, ready to jump in and get to work now.
“Especially the Black worker. We are screaming, 'We are here. We want to work.' There’s a whole untapped market being missed, and overlooked,” he said.
