State Department of Labor Commissioner Peter M. Rivera today announced that Whole Foods Market is bringing 300 jobs to Brooklyn by opening a new location in Gowanus, located at Third Avenue & Third Street. Opening in mid-December 2013, this is the company’s 13th location in New York State, with more than 350 locations nationwide. Candidate recruitment is now open and will run through October 25th at the State Labor Department Career Centers throughout New York City.

"Today’s announcement is an example of how collaboration between the public and private sectors is working to bring jobs to the people who need them, while also strengthening companies looking for hard-working employees to help them grow,” Commissioner Rivera said. “By expanding their operations in New York, Whole Foods Market is renewing their commitment to our state’s world-class workforce and bringing 300 new jobs to the local community. I congratulate Whole Foods Market on this latest development and encourage all interested job-seekers to contact the Labor Department’s Career Centers to begin their application process.”

Whole Foods Market will offer 22 different job titles for 300 open positions, from butchers to cake decorators to food arrangers in the grocery department. Whole Foods Market has been ranked on FORTUNE’s list of “100 Best Companies to Work For” for all 16 consecutive years since the list’s inception.

The New York State Department of Labor and the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) will lead an intensive recruitment process during the month of September. Staff at the state’s Career Centers and the City’s Workforce1 Career Centers is working with jobseekers that may be appropriate for one of the 300 open jobs that Whole Foods Market is providing to match up appropriate candidates for the next step of the recruitment and hiring process.

“Whole Foods Market has been working with NYC Business Solutions since 2009 for help recruiting nearly 500 candidates for new locations in NYC,” said Rob Walsh, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “There’s a reason Whole Foods Market keeps coming back to us for help, and in partnership with them and the State’s Department of Labor, we are helping to place more New Yorkers in jobs.”

“Thanks to the efforts of Governor Andrew Cuomo, State Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera, NYC Small Business Services Commissioner (and Brooklynite) Robert Walsh and our friends at Whole Foods Market, Brooklyn is about to benefit from the ultimate '2-for-1 special,’” said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. “Whole Foods' new stores in Gowanus and Williamsburg will provide groceries that supplement and promote a healthy lifestyle for their customers. These openings are also creating quality career opportunities for Brooklynites, furthering our state's commitment to strengthen our local economy. These supermarkets really are a 'super' deal for Brooklyn!”

“It’s with great pride that we partner with the state of New York to offer high quality career opportunities to local area residents,” said Michael Sinatra, spokesperson for Whole Foods Market’s Northeast Region. “Both the State Labor Department and SBS’s NYC Business Solutions have been instrumental in assisting us with identifying talented team members and helping to grow our company right here in New York, where we have plans to continue to grow with store plans in Gowanus, Port Chester, Albany, Upper East Side, Harlem and Williamsburg.”

After the recruitment and screening period, candidates will be scheduled for interviews with the employer at the City’s Workforce1 Career Center located at 9 Bond Street in Brooklyn in from October 28th through November 11th. The New York City Workforce1 Career Center system provides the City’s adult workforce and businesses with a full array of employment and recruitment services.

To find more information about these jobs or to apply, visit your local Career Center - http://www.labor.ny.gov/workforcenypartners/osview.asp - or apply online at http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/careers.