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Job fair is home to hope, worries

Thousands attend during stressful time for economy

By Roger Fillion, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published September 25, 2008 at 8:25 p.m.

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Somali refugee Hawa Mohammed , a jobless single mother of 4, tries to register for an annual job fair sponsored by the Colorado Department of Labor.

Photo by Judy DeHaas © The Rocky

Somali refugee Hawa Mohammed , a jobless single mother of 4, tries to register for an annual job fair sponsored by the Colorado Department of Labor.

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They came with hope.

They came with fear.

But most of all, they came to find a job.

Thousands of job seekers flocked to the Colorado Convention Center in hopes of landing work during decidedly uncertain economic times.

The big draw?

The Colorado Department of Labor teamed with six Denver area work-force centers to stage a major job fair.

By 4 p.m., a Labor Department spokesman estimated that more than 4,000 people had streamed through the front doors.

"And people are still arriving," said spokesman Bill Thoennes, who added that such events in the past "usually draw about 3,000."

More than 100 employers showed up, ranging from Qwest and Burt Automotive to Marriott International and DirecTV.

The Colorado Department of Corrections was there, too.

"We have 200 position available statewide," said Alison Morgan, the department's director of human resources. "Opportunities from Sterling to Trinidad. Limon to Rifle."

A correctional officer could start work making $36,000 to $40,000 a year. Nurses could earn more than $60,000.

Renewable energy company Ascent Solar of Jefferson County was looking for engineers and people with chemistry backgrounds.

Those beginning work with an engineering degree could earn $50,000 on up.

Marriott International was offering server jobs starting at $4 an hour, excluding tips. Cooks could make $10 an hour.

Thursday's job fair came at a pivotal moment for the economies of Colorado and the United States.

Colorado's unemployment rate has climbed to its highest level in more than three years, hitting 5.4 percent in August. The number of Coloradans holding jobs in August fell by the steepest amount in more than two decades.

And in Washington, political leaders were seeking to hammer out a financial bailout plan to stave off what President Bush warned could be "a long and painful recession."

Here are the stories of a handful of those attending the fair.

James Joyce

"I don't have a job right now," said Joyce.

How's the job market?

"In Denver, it's really tough," said the 55-year-old Denver resident. "It's even tougher to find part-time work."

Joyce had held a manufacturing job at an Aurora electrical- equipment company. But there was a mutual parting of the ways in April, he said, without going into detail.

Since then, Joyce has been hunting for a job in manufacturing and warehousing. He can drive a forklift and has carpentry skills.

He'll take part-time work.

"I want to have something to fall back on," said Joyce, a homeowner and parent of two grown children.

Joyce - who moonlights as a disc jockey on jazz radio station KUVO on Saturdays - isn't looking for big bucks. He wants to be "comfortable."

But his age hasn't helped. "It's hard for an older person to find a job."

Joyce does have a contingency plan if he doesn't find "the right kind" of job. "I'll start my own business."

What kind? A record store or an Internet radio station, he replied.

Wesley Brooks

Brooks, 25, had been working for a business software company in Westminster, in a data-entry job. "I helped customize the software for clients," said Brooks.

But the software gurus at the company developed a software that was "great" for the company - but not so good for Brooks.

"They made software that was smart enough to do our job functions," said Brooks. The Golden resident and a few colleagues suddenly were unemployed. He's been out of work about half a year.

Brooks is seeking an engineering job. He's a 2006 graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, with an engineering degree.

At the job fair, he's spoken with various companies about engineering jobs, including Ascent Solar and engineering company Ulteig Engineers, which is opening a Denver-area office.

He's upbeat. And so far Brooks doesn't feel much of an impact from the financial crisis. "I'm so young. I don't have the retirement account or the mortgage."

But Brooks conceded that the fallout could affect companies' hiring plans.

And his finances? His girlfriend has a good job. "We're surviving just fine - at least for the next month," said Brooks.

Marian Hattier

"I've just been laid off," said Hattier, 50. She'd been a customer-service agent with United Airlines.

Hattier had been with United for eight years. It's not the first time she's lost her job at the financially turbulent airline. "This is the fourth time for me," said the Denver resident, who also has worked as a chef and in the education field.

An Air Force veteran, Hattier worked at United because she received medical, dental and vision coverage. She also could get free flights for her kids and her mother. "When you have sick relatives, it's great."

Now Hattier is hunting for a job "where I can help people." Her dream job? Working as an investigator for the U.S. Department of Labor, one who would look into big companies with labor issues.

At the job fair, however, she's willing to find a customer-service job. Or another type of job. She also recently upgraded her computer skills.

"While I'm here, I'm going to look for whatever is available," said Hattier.

She's worried about her finances, given her multiple layoffs. "I've used up all my savings," said Hattier. "It's tight. Really tight."

Jeanne McKenna

McKenna, 54, has been out of work since February.

Her former employer, luggage maker Samsonite Corp., pulled up stakes and moved out of town.

"I'd been there 19 years," said the Denver resident, who worked in Samsonite's transportation department filing freight claims and acting as a "problem solver."

McKenna recently received job training to work in the health care industry as a medical biller and coder who codes bills so insurance companies cover the claim.

It was four months of "intensive" training.

"The medical field wants you to be certified," McKenna explained. "I am certified." But there's a Catch-22.

"They won't hire me because I don't have any recent experience in the health field," said McKenna. "It's very, very frustrating."

She'd be willing to go back to work in transportation, working for a trucking company. But surging fuel prices have hit truckers. "That business is so iffy right now."

McKenna is anxious to land a job. "I did get a severance package from Samsonite. So I still have a little cash left," she said.

So far she's talked with a couple of companies at the job fair. "I'm looking for a stable company to work another 10 years," said McKenna.

Comments

  • September 25, 2008

    10:16 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Videobarbs writes:

    While the media is all over the Washington/Wall Street "drama" - this is where the real drama is - 4,000 souls worth. This is Main Street. This is you and me and all the other Americans who have been abandoned by their government and the companies they have loyally worked for.
    Thanks to The Rocky Mtn News, and reporter Roger Fillion. I know that it's a changing job market and we all have to adapt or die, but there should be a massive gov't approach, like FDR's WPA to re-train or re-school viable workers and once employed they can pay the gov't back for any loans for this re-training.
    I got a wrong number today; a collection agency (I think for card services). Guess what? The customer service person was in India and it was 4 a.m. there.
    Good luck to all those interviewed. I've been there. When I went to these job fairs, I dressed well, but I knew I pulsated fear and desperation as many of the others did. I particularly felt sorry for the men - they remind me of my father who forty years ago faced the same challenges. It's just more demeaning for men. Us gals don't draw our whole worth from our jobs.
    Tragic times that look to get worse.

  • September 26, 2008

    8:14 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    roger44 writes:

    In the meanwhile, the Government is letting the ski resorts and meat packers bring in workers an H1B visas so they have jobs, the resorts don't care, they make more money to put in their rear pockets. i don't know what it will take to get the Government to stop this madness, and these greedy employers. I realize they are in business to make money but seems to me if they pay a living wage to Americans, that money is spread around here, not sent back to a foreign country.

  • September 26, 2008

    9:45 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    steve00 writes:

    I'm so angry right now. This exact same thing happened in the '80's. Reagan de-regulated the financial industry, there was no over sight, the greedy executives made stacks of cash from risky loans and investments if not outright fraud, and the taxpayer got stuck with the bill. In the mean time, the economy tanks, loads of folks get laid off, retirement savings get wiped out, but the CEO's get giant severance packages. Wasn't that '80's presidents name Bush also? We can't, we CANNOT, elect another republican administration. Twice in my adult life, they have opened to public coffers to crony's in the name of free enterprise and we've gotten screwed. BTW, I voted for Reagan. I think he was one of the greatest presidents we've ever had, but I think he assumed there was a level of morals and ethics in business that isn't there or has disappeared. Maybe it's just these baby boom republican's that have tossed it all down the drain. I don't know, but it's got to stop.

  • September 26, 2008

    10:54 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    roger44 writes:

    Nancy Pelosi was interviewed this morning, she was told that Bill Clinton advised the democrats this would happen if something wasn't done. She still blamed someone else for not paying attention. both parties pass the buck, bunch of liars and won't face the truth, that their entire system has failed. greed and corruption rampant, and who gets the dirty end of the stick? The little guys trying to make a living.

  • September 26, 2008

    12:01 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    kali73 writes:

    I am an Amercian despite our government - and I don't blame the voters because most candidates on either side have no clue. Our government no longer cares about its people, but only special interests and business. It is a wonder things are not worse!