Baltimore Job Fair Draws Thousands

If there was a scale to measure the growing woes of unemployment in this deepening recession, it would be gauged by the number of job seekers at recent job fairs across the US. Many have drawn thousands of laid off workers and others in search of already limited job openings. The nation’s unemployment rate hit 8.1 percent in February.

One such fair was held at the Baltimore Convention Center this Wednesday, drawing hundreds of people, standing in line for hours just to get in. Maryland’s unemployment rate hit 6.2 percent in January, a 16 year high for the state.

Job seekers, despite the hours long waiting in lines and fierce competition, seem determined to find any offers they can get their hands on. Some have been unemployed for as many as two years, but holding on to the hope of landing a job here.

“I’ll go in there and do what I have to do,” one of the jobseekers said. “I’m going to have a positive frame of mind. … If you go in there and say, ‘Oh my gosh, look at all those people,’ employers will see that. You have to have confidence.”

According to The Employment Guide, which posts jobs online and in print and also sponsored this job fair, the theme for this years events is Putting Americans Back to Work. There has been a steady growth in demand and attendance at these events as unemployment is rising and other economic conditions are worsening. Close to 2000 people attended Wednesday’s job fair, up from 1500 that attended a similar event in July last year.

More than 45 companies, including the likes of Coca Cola, attended the job fair. But with close to 2000 attendees, people had to wait more than an hour to make their impression on the companies represented. The line of jobseekers waiting remained 200-300 people long thorough out the event.

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