ORLANDO, Fla. — Unemployment in Central Florida is below the national average but job placement centers like those at Goodwill still see tens of thousands of people every year.
- National unemployment rate is 3.6 percent; in Central Florida it is 2.7 percent
- Goodwill in Orlando has been helping thousands find work, says director
A lot of people like Luke Tyte know about Goodwill's great deals, but they do not know about the other side of the building on Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, where the money from their purchases goes.
"So Goodwill took in about 1.2 million donations last year, and all those donations equal jobs," said Paul Secor, director of employment services at Goodwill Central Florida.
Central Florida's unemployment rate is at 2.7 percent, which is below the national average of 3.6 percent.
However, Secor says Goodwill still helps tens of thousands of people each year who need help finding work.
"So we have 11 different job centers scattered across six different counties and we generally see about 50,000 people per year. (We) have a lot of people who are under employed or who have barriers to employment," Secor said.
People like Tyte's friends, who came to Orlando from Haiti.
He says a lot of them struggle to find good paying jobs.
"Sometimes they have a job but the salary is not okay. Sometimes they don't have that good English, you know?" Tyte said.
And Secor says that is the help they provide at the service centers.
"Anything from helping people get their GED, helping people with English as a second language, or helping them do mock interviews," Secor said.
Now Tyte says he is going to go spread the word about their job services as well their deals.
"Now I know I can tell them to come over here," Tyte said.
Secor says donations are up by 9 percent from last year, which means more resources to help people find jobs.