State Labor Commissioner Peter M. Rivera today announced that the Department of Labor will partner with advocates to bring businesses and internship programs to a job fair on Thursday, June 6, directed at one of the city’s most at-risk populations: Homeless LGBTQ youth.  The event will be held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community Center of New York City (208 West 13th St.) at 11 a.m. and will focus on employment and internship programs for youth between ages 16 and 24.

Those who attend will have the chance to interview with businesses for job opportunities and take advantage of workshops that will be conducted at the fair.

“Getting our ready-to-learn, ready-to-work youth into the same room as those who are ready to hire them is a crucial step in reinvigorating the youngest in our workforce,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. “These state-sponsored job fairs are great opportunities for those who are transitioning into jobs to meet with businesses from across the city that want to hire.”

With the unemployment rate for young people in New York State at 18 percent (and nearly 20 percent in New York City), last year the Governor’s Office launched the New York Youth Works program: an initiative designed to provide opportunities to our newest and most at-risk members of the workforce. By providing training prior to an interview and a tax credit for each youth’s first year on the job, more than 12,900 of unemployed young men and women were put to work at New York businesses in 2012. These businesses now have capable employees tailored to their needs and did not have to spend a dime to recruit and train them.

“As we look toward the future workforce of New York City and New York State, we know it’s in the hands of our youth,” said Commissioner Rivera. “Sometimes young people don’t know where to look for jobs or how to start on a career path – for them, these kinds of events are the perfect launchpad.”

The job fair is sponsored by the Department of Labor in partnership with the Ali Forney Center, Brooklyn Community Pride Center, Callen-Lorde Community Health Center, Hetrick-Martin Institute and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center.

All businesses participating in the career fair list their job openings on Governor Cuomo's "Jobs Express" website, located at www.jobs.ny.gov. Job seekers can post their resumes and search through nearly 70,000 jobs, with positions available in every region of the state. Employers can use the website to search through submitted resumes and find highly qualified candidates in their own backyard. They can also post unlimited job openings at no cost.

For more information, please call the Department of Labor at 1-888-4-NYSDOL or visit www.labor.ny.gov.