Thousands of people came out to the Rabobank Convention Center in downtown Bakersfield to attend Kern County’s largest JobFest.

The event Thursday morning paired applicants with over 150 companies, and Department of Human Services spokesman Brandon Evans says the goal of the fair is to help people find work the right way. Businesses on hand had over 28-hundred open positions.

Many of the people who came out were former oilfield workers, but the crowd also featured recent layoffs and those looking for a career change. The last JobFest this spring will be June 16th at Cesar Chavez High School in Delano.

The local unemployment rate is 11.6-percent.

Kelli Forsch