Hire One Atlanta hits 10,000 hires by 1,100 companies
By Maria Saporta
Friday, July 8, 2011
The Hire One Atlanta campaign — a program to help improve Atlanta’s employment picture — has reached a major milestone.
Since March, 10,000 people have been hired by 1,100 local companies. Each week, the Atlanta Business Chronicle has been recognizing companies that have hired at least one new full-time employee. The list now fills the two-page centerfold of the weekly newspaper.
The initiative is a partnership between Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, the Metro Atlanta Chamber, the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Atlanta Business League and the SHRM-Atlanta.
“The biggest surprise of the whole program is that the average is about 10 jobs per company,” said Ed Baker, publisher of the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “In some ways, Hire One has exceeded my expectations. We’ve been getting an incredible response.”
The Hire One initiative also has received national recognition having been featured on several national television channels.
Mayor Reed announced the initiative at the State of the City Business Breakfast on Feb. 22. The idea was that if the 150,000 companies in metro Atlanta hired just one new employee, there could be a significant dent in the region’s unemployment numbers.
“In four short months, 10,000 previously unemployed Atlantans now have a
job,” Reed said. “This is a significant milestone for the Hire One Atlanta campaign, and I am confident that we’ll continue to put more people back to work in the City of Atlanta.”
Baker said the Hire One campaign will continue through the balance of the year — at least until Thanksgiving. When the program is completed, the Atlanta Business Chronicle will have donated more than $200,000 in advertising space for the initiative.
Reed said the campaign is vital to Atlanta’s economy. “I challenge all companies in the City of Atlanta to redouble their efforts and hire at least one new employee,” said Reed, who credited Baker for his leadership and vision to launch Hire One.
Baker felt the initiative would be a positive way to improve Atlanta’s bleak job picture. By showcasing companies that were hiring new employees, Baker thought that other businesses would be motivated to follow suit.
