ATLANTA - Thousands of jobless Georgians turned out Wednesday for a "job fair on steroids," hoping to sign on with one of the more than 100 potential employers on hand or network themselves off the unemployment rolls.
State Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond, whose agency organized the five-hour event, estimated 10,000 people had arrived in the cavernous chambers of the Georgia World Congress Center by the time career fair and expo got started at 4 p.m.
"This is the largest we have ever had," said Thurmond, calling it a "job fair on steroids."
Just holding the event provides hope to the unemployed, a vital part of economic stimulus, Thurmond said.
"You're always hopeful that things will turn around," said Don Wilborn, 42, of Covington, an urban planner for a nonprofit agency until May 2008. "If I didn't think they would turn around, I wouldn't be here."
Sarah Beth Cooper, 26, of Atlanta came to the fair. She said she had applied for 380 jobs over the Internet and attended "six or seven career fairs in Georgia and Florida," but had no luck so far.
"Right now, I'm just trying to pay the bills," said Cooper, out of work five months after being laid off as a customer service supervisor for a construction supply company.
Terry McQuinn, 55, of Atlanta said he also had searched extensively on the Internet and found it time consuming.
"You can spend two or three hours applying on one company's Web site ... and then never hear back," said McQuinn, who worked in commercial photography and advertising for 20 years but has been unemployed for more than 18 months. "You spend so much time looking."
Wednesday's event allowed the job seekers to meet face to face with hirers - ranging from security firms and government agencies to fast-food companies and a chain of metro Atlanta pawn shops - or with those who could help hone their job-seeking skills.
Resume review services provided by the Department of Labor were a first step for hundreds of participants. They could avail themselves of "resource service providers," including several two- and four-year educational institutions and technical colleges.
Also on hand were both public and private support agencies, including churches, the state Division of Family and Children Services and the Department of Community Health.
There were workshops on career decisions and handling personal finances after a job loss.
Last month, the labor department said Georgia's unemployment rate hit a record 8.6 percent in January, meaning 412,770 unemployed Georgians were looking for work. That's an increase of more than 60 percent from the same time last year.
More than 86,000 people filed initial claims for benefits last month. That compares with about 41,000 in February 2008.
Thurmond said most of the initial claims were filed by laid-off workers in manufacturing, trade, construction, and administrative services.
"Many of the jobs will not come back, even when the economy comes back," Thurmond said. He said the unemployed "are going to have to re-educate, retrain and prepare themselves."
"The best insurance against a layoff is upgrading transferable skills," the commissioner said.
Tuesday
October 8th, 2024
2:30PM
