Internet Path to Paychecks

Finding a job requires knowing where to look, especially for people coming off welfare or a long period of unemployment. The new California Job Openings Browse System (CalJOBS) points a finger in the right direction with a simple-to-use online list of job openings.

Any job seeker can reach the statewide service from a home computer with Internet access (at www.caljobs.ca.gov) or from computer terminals in state unemployment offices, county welfare offices and other public places including libraries. Some locations have computer-literate job counselors who can help. Such broad access will put the service at hand for many people who need jobs the most.

The 14-day listings are renewable and are free to employers, who may send in the job information via the Internet or by fax. There are 100,000 jobs posted now, from entry-level to technical and managerial, and the state hopes to list 1 million over the course of a year. Employers also can review resumes posted by potential employees.

Best of all, the CalJOBS system works in the real world. One employer, Corestaff Services, began posting jobs in January for administrative, clerical and light industrial positions. So far, it has hired 23 employees through CalJOBS. An adult education teacher from Jordan High School took 45 students, including displaced homemakers and recent immigrants, into an unemployment office; using the Internet service with the help of counselors, 44% got jobs.

Ray Remy, director of the state Employment Development Department, believes CalJOBS will speed up the transition from welfare to work. Because Remy headed the 2,000-member Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce for 12 years, he knows what employers want.

The CalJOBS service, funded primarily by the U.S. Labor Department, is off to a good start. Its combination of high tech and easy access should add up to many new paychecks.