| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
|
| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
|
|
|
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SLOC finding slack job market
But most are not worried about landing something
By Brady Snyder
Deseret News staff writer
A general decline in the economy magnified by the events of Sept. 11 has made it difficult for employees of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee to find work following their Olympic billets.
SLOC had hoped to find post-Olympic work for 90 percent of its employees by the end of the Paralympics on March 16 but currently only a third of the Olympic workers have been placed in new jobs.
Organizers, including human resources chief Ed Eynon, were aggressive, encouraging employees to look for jobs last November. "We wanted to be a lot more aggressive than either of the sponsors wanted to be," Eynon said.
Those sponsors — job service providers Monster.com and Drake, Beam and Morin — were eventually convinced that placement needed to be done sooner rather than later and became more proactive in finding jobs earlier on in the Olympic experience, Eynon said.
Still, despite the aggressive campaign, it's been difficult to find jobs.
The marketplace hasn't helped any.
The Utah Department of Workforce Services puts the state's current unemployment rate at the highest it's been since April 1992. The department also notes that Utah is seeing its slowest expansion of new jobs since 1987.
Those figures aren't encouraging for SLOC employees searching for post-Olympic work. Many workers, however, remain upbeat and are patiently waiting for employment after the Games.
"I guess I kind of hoped to have something, but I'm not real bothered by it," said Brad Eggert, who is planning a Florida vacation and Caribbean cruise. "There are a couple jobs where I'm sure that if I pushed hard I could start next week, but I just want to find the right one."
Accountant Travis Jones leaves SLOC April 30, and he shares Eggert's lack of concern. He doesn't have a job offer yet despite sending out several resumes.
Jones has no idea what he'll be doing, but he is confident there will be jobs available in his field. "I knew this job would end and I would be looking again, but that didn't bother me," Jones said.
If nothing comes available, SLOC employees could consider filing for unemployment insurance — something more Utahns are doing lately, according to Workforce Services.
For the four-week period ending Feb. 23 the average number of people filing initial unemployment insurance claims was 2,092 — up 9.4 percent from the four-week average during the same time last year.
Contributing: The Associated Press
E-MAIL: bsnyder@desnews.com
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March 12, 2002
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