BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — Blount County's employment numbers are going up. Within the last five years, the county saw almost a 6% growth in its workforce. The increase in the number of businesses opening there is also not stopping.
According to the Blount Partnership, by 2028, more than 60,000 people will be working in the county. Right now, about 57,000 people work in the county.
This means they are expecting around a 5% increase in the number of people working in Blount County. The Blount Partnership said jobs are available in the area and employers need workers.
"There's more opportunities for people to come here and work, more opportunities to create good lives for themselves," said Jeff Muir with the Blount Partnership.
One job in the area leads to a ripple economic impact in East Tennessee. Right now about 1,000 jobs are open for workers who have a range of experience, in a variety of businesses.
"This means more for the economy, it means more for the tax base, which adds to resources for education, and health care services," Muir said.
The Blount Partnership said the top four occupations that face gaps and need workers are management, healthcare, maintenance and repair, as well as business and financial operations.
Tennessee's American Job Center also plays a crucial role in closing those occupation gaps. They provide resume and cover letter reviews that help people land a job.
"The resume makes the difference, it gets you noticed," Green said. "I think a lot of people don't understand the significance of having a really good resume as it comes to job searches."
Tuesday's Blount Partnership job fair attracted about 1,000 people, in comparison to their average of 500 people. They said Amazon and Smith & Wesson played a major role in bringing more people to the fair.