More than 1,000 jobs to be filled at Pasco career fair

Thursday, November 6, 2008

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Job fairs throughout the Bay area have been inundated with people seeking work.

PASCO COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- On Thursday, thousands of potential employees will descend on a job fair in Pasco County in hopes of getting work.

More than 30 companies are looking for new employees, including Fifth-Third Bank and Bright House Networks (Bay News 9's parent company). The U.S. Government is also looking to hire 1,000 people for new census jobs that would last at least a year.

So many businesses wanted to be a part of the job fair that Rasmussen College had to move it from its original site on the campus to a larger site at the Marriott Residence Inn in Lutz.

It's a welcome change for job seekers, especially in Pasco County, where unemployment is almost 8 percent, job fair organizers said. So many people have been struggling to find work in the Bay area that, at recent career fairs, almost every seat has been filled.

Hiring managers said companies have been cutting back and going out of business. Despite that, organizers of the job fair said they didn't struggle to get companies to participate in the job fair.

"What's especially beneficial to the job seekers is that we have companies representing the banking industry, I.T. industry, health care industry. We have engineering jobs available," said Rasmussen College Campus Director Clair Walker.

The Pasco County Fall Networking and Career Fair starts at 9 a.m. Thursday and runs until 1 p.m. The college tells potential job seekers to be prepared for a job interview and to bring multiple resumes to pass out to several companies.