Job seekers look for work at a job fair in Syracuse
/ photo by Caitlin Nuclo
SYRACUSE -- Hundreds of people looking for work walked through the gates of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo Thursday, hoping to land one of 900 available jobs.
The job fair at the zoo was one of 11 across the state. Organizers say 1,400 people seeking jobs visited the 40 local employers participating in the fair. The employers included area hospitals, nursing homes, retailers and manufacturers.
Job seekers say events like this can make a difference. "It's great to see that they're doing something like this out here. I think they need more job fairs and a lot more employment in the area. I think it would help," says Jason Stempieh. He says he has been looking for work for about six months.
"I've been looking for a long time to find a full time position. It's been kind of hard," said Tyleisha Outley.
Companies interviewed some job seekers on-site.
"The candidates that were here today at the zoo were tremendous. Hopefully, we can move forward and offer some of these people some jobs and get them working again," said Thomas Cimino with G4S Security in Syracuse.
The Syracuse region's unemployment rate stands at 8.1% which matches the statewide average.
If you need help finding a job, the Labor Department has tools that can help you.
