The construction industry on Guam lost more than 600 jobs in a year through December of last year, but thanks to increased hiring in hotels and other service-related businesses, the total number of jobs shed in the private sector wasn’t as deep in that period, numbers released yesterday show.

The latest quarterly employment report, as of December 2011, shows that private sector jobs shrank by 310, decreasing to 46,480 by the end of last year, compared to the December 2010 total.

The seasonal holiday hiring last month was boosted by almost $200 million in tax refunds, which encouraged consumer spending, slightly raised hiring between September and December last year.

The retail industry added 50 jobs between September last year and the end of last month’s holiday shopping season, with 11,530 jobs. But compared to a year earlier, the local retail industry lost 80 jobs last December, the report shows.

The construction industry had 6,660 jobs in December 2010, and that total shrank by 650 last month.

“The December 2011 preliminary statistics show the number of jobs on Guam increased in the latest quarter and has essentially recovered to the total of one year ago,” according to the Guam Labor Department report.

The job recovery came primarily from government hiring — both federal and local.

Federal jobs increased from 3,940 to 4,150 between December 2010 and December 2011.

Government of Guam jobs went up from 11,870 to 11,940 in the same one-year period, mainly because of additional hiring in Government of Guam agencies outside of the executive branch.

Local Government of Guam executive branch hiring decreased from 7,140 to 7,080 within that one-year comparison.

The Governor of Guam recently announced this week as Careers and Construction Week which recognizes the people who help develop growth and career opportunities on the island of Guam. Throughout the week, the Guam Contractor’s Association, the GCA Trades Academy, Guam Community College, the Department of Labor and the Mayor’s Council of Guam will be educating the people of Guam on the importance of the construction industry and employment opportunities which are available on Guam.

The Guam Department of Labor and the Guam Contractors Association have partnered up to host an Islandwide Job Fair scheduled for this coming Tuesday, November 1 from 9am to 3pm at the UOG Field House in the village of Mangilao.

Primary goals during the fair will be to foster and promote wage earner welfare in Guam.  The Guam Islandwide Job Fair will also identify the need to enhance opportunities for occupational training and profitable employment.  Anyone looking for a job on Guam will greatly benefit by attending the job fair as various Guam employers from a wide spectrum of industries will be on hand to make direct contact by screening and interviewing potential employees.  So everyone who attends the job fair should dress to impress and be prepared for on the spot job interviews.

“We’re very excited to bring these companies together for everyone out there looking for a job,” Labor director Leah Beth Naholowaa said. “This is just one of the many projects we are working on to advance the governor’s workforce development agenda.”

“It’s important to  us that we do everything possible to bring career opportunities to all Guamanians looking for work,” Governor Eddie Baza Calvo said. “The Department of Labor’s partnerships with the private sector is critical and proactive. They’ve done a great job putting this together.”

MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan, Philippines — Good news for Bulacan skilled workers like masons, plumbers, electricians and other construction workers needed in Guam for the construction of US military bases in Guam.

This was the main topic during the talk among the members of the mayor’s council of Guam with Mayor Christian D. Natividad as part of the sisterhood pact that will provide employment opportunities for the people in this city.

Natividad said the delegates from Guam were Mayors Vicente San Nicolas of Asan Maina and Vicente Taitague of Talofofo, and Angel Sablan, Executive Director of the Mayors’ Council.

Their local counterparts were Vice-Mayor Gilbert Gatchalian, Alma Gatchalian, Francisco Centeno Jr., Alberto Ramos, Crispin Erjas, Dionisio Mendoza-ABC President, department heads and 14 barangay captains.

The sisterhood arrangement aims to foster close relations between the two territories, share good practices in governance, and provide employment opportunities for the people of Malolos City.

Sablan, who commended the skills and craftsmanship of workers in this province, said the fluency in English of Filipino workers is also an advantage to land jobs in Guam.

He even claimed that many people in Guam have Filipino ancestors.

The vision also aimed at strengthening the tourism industry in the City of Malolos and likewise the city officials could learned from Asan Maina as it is home to Guam’s historical landmarks and tourist sites while Talofofo can offer insights on their Land for the Landless Subdivision and community development projects that instill village pride, respect and dignity.

Natividad appreciated the delegates visit to Malolos city which is still reeling from the effects of typhoon Pedring and Quiel.

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By: Freddie C. Velez
From: The Manila Bulletin Newspaper
October 11, 2011

We opened our Facebook page in the beginning of the month and it continues to gain in popularity with 120 people liking our page at the time of this update.  You can check out our page at http://www.facebook.com/GuamJobs; help us expand and spread the word about GuamJobs.net and our page on Facebook.  Be sure to click the “Like” button; we appreciate your support!

We wanted to give readers of our blog a sneak preview of the Guam Jobs Network vinyl banner which will be displayed at the Islandwide Job Fair this coming Friday.  It’s 4 feet high by 10 feet wide so you can’t miss it if you plan on attending the job fair.  Visit Guam’s Islandwide Job Fair this Friday and meet over 30 companies hiring on the island.

The Guam Department of Labor and Guam Contractors Association have teamed up to hold an islandwide job fair on the island of Guam this week at the University of Guam Field House in the village of Mangilao.  The job fair takes place all day long on May 6, 2011 between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm.

There will be over 30 companies participating in the job fair including Ambros Inc., DZSP 21 LLC, dck pacific Guam LLC, Hard Rock Cafe, the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, Hyatt Regency Guam, King’s Restaurant Guam, MCV Broadband, Pacific Islands Club, Mandara Spa, Cars Plus Guam, Black Construction, Fargo Pacific, City Hill Co. Guam, and many more.

Primary goals of the Guam job fair will be to promote wage earner welfare in Guam and to enhance job opportunities, training and profitable employment on the island. For more information on the job fair you can call the One-Stop Career Center at +1 (671) 475-7000/1.

If your an employer looking to fill an open position in your company, you can post your job opening on our website for job seekers to respond too.  Employers can also browse through a large list of resumes submitted by job seekers looking for a job on Guam.

If your a job seeker you can post your resume on our job site for free;  potential employers are constantly looking through our Guam job site for experienced workers to fill open positions.  You can also browse through job listings on our website and submit your resume to employers for job openings which interest you.  Get started today by opening up a FREE “Job Seeker” account!