Wuhan holds first on-site job fair since virus outbreak

WUHAN -- Over 7,000 job seekers on Tuesday attended a job fair in Wuhan, the city's first on-site recruitment activity since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.

The human resources and social security bureau of Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province, said 281 enterprises brought over 10,000 job vacancies into the event's seven sub-fairs held in different districts, which saw a total of 3,528 people signing recruitment contracts.

The return of such on-site job fairs came as Wuhan continues to speed up work resumption and bring its battered economy back on track.

The central city had previously held several online job fairs as residents were told to stay at home during the 76-day lockdown, which was lifted on April 8 as the epidemic petered out.

Precautions were still in place at Tuesday's fair. Job seekers were required to present health codes, wear masks and keep a distance of at least 1.5 meters when lining up before the companies' booths.

Zhu Xiulian, 44, found a new job at a garment factory via the fair. "The glass factory where I've worked for 11 years went bankrupt. I searched for weeks before I was recruited because most companies only hire people under 40," she said.

The garment company that hired Zhu switched to the production of protective suits during the epidemic and has faced a surging demand for labor. It had previously held two job fairs in Huanggang, a city near Wuhan, and employed over 200 workers.

Some workers were there to find short-term jobs to tide over the temporary closures of their workplaces.

"We have helped some 60 staff members find short-term jobs," said Xu Juzhen, owner of a local restaurant that closed amid the epidemic, grounding over 200 employees at home. "We will welcome them back as soon as our dine-in service resumes."

The bureau said it will continue to organize both online and offline job fairs, planning at least 70 events by the end of June to provide about 30,000 jobs.