Opportunity and need.
 

We live in a community with astounding levels of both. As we emerge from a pandemic that destroyed
lives and livelihoods at unprecedented levels, we remarkably are at an all-time historic low for unemployment rates and all-time highs for earnings. At the same time, our community continues to experience substantial challenges because even though data measuring economic prosperity in Tulare County are at all-time highs, we still have one of the highest levels of unemployment and poverty in California.

At the Workforce Investment Board, our work is to connect those in need with opportunities. If you are a business in need of quality workers, we are here to help you find them. If you are an individual in need of work, we are here to make sure you have the best opportunity to compete for good jobs in our community.

But we don’t do any of that work alone. We accomplish everything we do by partnering with people and
institutions in our community. We contract with community-based organizations like CSET and Proteus to serve workers in our Employment Connection Centers. We assist those job seekers by connecting them to education partners or directly with businesses. We work with education partners to provide scholarships for workers to get industry-valued credentials and ensure that K-16 pathways connect to relevant industry sector needs. We work with the County, cities, chambers of commerce, and economic development organizations to ensure that businesses growing or looking to relocate to our community are informed about our loyal, skilled, and resilient workforce and get assistance in hiring workers.

As we look at the hazy economic horizon ahead, we realize uncertain challenges await us. Will inflation
erode wage growth and continue to squeeze households? Will monetary actions taken to tackle inflation
lead to a recession?

We can’t precisely know the answers to these questions now. However, we know that whatever economic opportunities or challenges lie ahead, Tulare County is a community with people and organizations that move quickly to unite in response to opportunities and needs. The Workforce Investment Board is honored to play an important role in rallying the community around that work and making investments in workers so that families and businesses in our community thrive.