Friday, January 02, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Hits on JobConnect Web site serving Las Vegas Valley top 6 million in 2003

The number of visitors to the Nevada JobConnect Web site has doubled since 2002 with the total visits reaching more than 6 million in 2003.

In October, traffic to the nearly 2-year-old job database reached a record monthly high of 745,000 visitors.

Although reports of the economic rebound and brighter horizons for local industries dominate headlines, a good number of local job seekers continue to use every available method, including the Internet, to find work in the valley.

BiIl Overly, business services office manager for Nevada JobConnect, credits a multimedia campaign for the site's success.

"We relate the increase in (Web site) traffic to the increased awareness of who we are," Overly said. "We're seeing an increase in supply and we want to reach out to businesses to satisfy the demand."

New features planned for the site in 2004 include a mechanism for creating a profile of the typical JobConnect site visitor.

Through the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board, which partners with Nevada JobConnect, job seekers visiting the Web site will be asked to submit basic demographic information, including gender and education level. The information will be used to build a profile, deputy board manager Ardell Galbreth said.

The information is being collected on a limited basis now with 100 percent data collection to begin in the spring, Galbreth said.

"We will then be able to tell who they (job seekers) are, and we can craft our services based on that information," Galbreth added.

The board assists with job training and works with several other partners to offer various employment and training services in Clark, Nye, Esmeralda and Lincoln counties.