Many attend Careers And Coffee Job Expo Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, at the Brownsville Events Center in Brownsville. (Miguel Roberts | The Brownsville Herald)
BROWNSVILLE – A bustling crowd of job-seekers filled the Brownsville Events Center on Thursday for Careers and Coffee, an annual job fair that featured more than 75 employers.
Eryka Rodriguez, marketing specialist for the Greater Brownsville Economic Development Corp., said the event garnered about 3,500 pre-registrations. About 1,200 people had checked into the event before noon.
The job expo is “for the community to get good paying jobs, and just explore other opportunities that are available to them in the RGV,” Eryka Rodriguez said.
Employers represented aerospace, manufacturing, healthcare, education, hospitality and law enforcement. The line of attendees waiting to talk to SpaceX recruiters wrapped about the northeast side of the building.
The unemployment rate in the Brownsville-Harlingen area was 6.5% in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than two percentage points higher than the national average at the time. The local unemployment rate has fallen since reaching 7.3% in June.
Preliminary data from the bureau shows that the total number of non-farm jobs dropped slighting between August and September. Mining, logging and construction jobs fell by 2.7% during the same period, while manufacturing saw 4.9% growth. Professional and business services grew by 5.2%, and leisure and hospitality grew by 1.5%.
Amid the throngs of people dressed smartly in suits and more casually in jeans, recruiter manager Alejandra Rodriguez was impressed by the number of attendees. She was there to promote staff recruiting company Snelling’s positions for healthcare, industrial, warehouse and forklift workers, among others.
“This year, it’s been super packed compared to other years,” she said.
Luna Espinosa was among those searching for a job. The Brownsville native said she recently moved back to the area from North Carolina and was hoping to find a customer service position.
Espinosa connected with Brownsville ISD’s Adult Continuing Education at the event and is looking forward to joining its phlebotomy program in January.
“It was fun getting to see what’s out there and finding something you’re interested in,” Espinosa said.
Angela Carrizalez and Anthony Elvir, both of Los Fresnos, attended the expo in hopes of finding new jobs. Both are interested in roles as pipefitters, with Carrizalez also interested in state trooper jobs and Elvir eyeing a position as a fire fighter.
“We want something different,” Carrizalez said.
“We want something more,” Elvir added.
For Elvir, his dream job would be something that allows the pair to travel around the country for work. The rising prices of necessity like gas and groceries is also a motivator, he added. Carrizalez wants stability.
The pair have been looking for better jobs for around 18 months but were discouraged by the online application process, with Elvir saying he’s gotten only one call-back during that time.
Carrizalez was frustrated by the pattern she sees in the area of job-seekers needing a connection inside a company to stand a chance of getting in the door. The face-to-face connections she made at the expo were a nice change.
“(Recruiters) actually give you their number,” she said. “It’s so much better than online.”