Are you a business owner trying to ramp up operations after the statewide shut-down, or adding jobs due to new business created by COVID-19? You could get your jobs in front 326,504 Louisiana residents by posting your jobs on the HIRE website. Helping Individuals Reach Employment (HIRE) is the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s database of available jobs and job seekers, and it is free for both parties. All residents who have registered unemployment insurance claims are automatically enrolled in the HIRE system, and as of the week ending May 16, the last data available from the Louisiana Workforce Commission, that was the number of claims.
Though all residents with an unemployment insurance claim are automatically enrolled in HIRE, how much they stand out to employers depends on the degree to which they complete their online profile, with education, training, work history and industry credentials such as professional degrees and technical certificates. An employer can search the database of job seekers within a given geography that have noted in their profile they are looking for a job.
Likewise, job seekers can search for jobs using a wide variety of sorting and filtering paths, such as geography, industry, occupation or keyword. When they find a job they are interested in, they can pull up the job description, see what type of training, experience or other criteria are required and salary offered if it is published. When a job seeker finds a job they like, they apply through the website or the employer can direct them to apply using their standard channels (e.g. corporate careers page). Employers can post one job on HIRE or 200 jobs and there is no cost to the employer, except the time it takes to fill out the job notice.
This is not a recommendation that employers stop using their standard methods of recruitment, but given that an unprecedented number of Louisiana residents is currently captured within the HIRE system, it is a way to dramatically increase the number of job seekers that may see a job notice.
For employers interested in posting jobs on HIRE who have never used the system before, visit www.louisianaworks.net and near the top of the page click the option to “Register for your hire account.” On the next screen, scroll to Option 3 “Create a User Account” and select the Employer tab. From here, it will ask you for information about your business such as you Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax ID number (FEID) and your Unemployment Insurance Employer Account number. It should be self-explanatory from there, but if you need assistance getting jobs posted contact Jacques Lasseigne, Industry Sector Coordinator for the Louisiana Workforce Commission at JLasseigne@lwc.la.gov.
There are many organizations around the state focused on getting Louisiana companies safely back in business and residents back to work. The North Louisiana Economic Partnership will be regularly sharing tools that can help you through this process.
Angie White, CEcD | Executive Vice President and Workforce Initiatives Director at the North Louisiana Economic Partnership.
