3,000 search for job opportunities at Fountain City Classic job fair
By: By TONY ADAMS
Published: Sat, 11/07 @ 12:00AM
Tennille Brooks has been out of work about a year and making ends meet with a “prayer.”
On Friday, she was at the Fountain City Classic Career Expo and Job Fair in Columbus, using a computer to fill out an application for a $14-an-hour production job at the Kia auto plant in West Point, Ga.
The Phenix City wife and mother of two children, ages 13 and 10, had high hopes. After all, her sister landed a job at Kia a couple of months ago.
“It would be a blessing for me,” said Brooks, 33. “I just trust in God that he’ll make a way and that, hey, I’m going to be working for Kia. I believe.”
The South Korean automaker recently reopened applications for more than 1,200 jobs to fill a second shift at the sprawling factory off Interstate 85 in Troup County.
Brooks, meanwhile, was among about 3,000 people to attend the first Fountain City Classic Career Expo and Job Fair at the Columbus Convention and Trade Center. About 70 employers and 30 educational and support agencies were on hand.
While Kia’s computerized application stations were a big draw at the event, the Fort Benning employment booth also was bustling.
George Harrison, a maintenance supervisor at a local plant that is shutting down, knows the U.S. Armor School is moving here from Fort Knox, Ky.
The Fort Benning personnel staff told Harrison there are a few jobs available now. But plenty more should be opening up in the next three months or so.
“I’m just exploring the waters and trying to see what’s out there and seeing if it’s getting any better,” said Harrison, 57, who is married.
On Friday, the Columbus resident came away from the job fair feeling that some hiring is taking place.
“But I also feel that companies are still very, very cautious and they’re hiring absolutely what they have to have,” he said.
Michael Thurmond would concur. The commissioner of Georgia’s Labor Department pointed out the U.S. unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent in October, its highest level in 26 years. Nationally, he said, six people are vying for every available job.
“This is the most difficult job market that anyone can remember post-Depression,” he said.
Closer to home, the Columbus metro area jobless rate in September was 9.6 percent, while Georgia’s rate stands at 10.1 percent. October data for the state and city will be released in the next two weeks.
Thurmond projects the state rate will peak as high as 10.6 percent next year before showing any improvement.
But the eternal optimist on Friday encouraged those out of work and desperate for a steady paycheck to not give up in the face of extremely daunting odds.
“We’ve been in this for two years. That’s what’s so astounding sometimes,” Thurmond said. “I’ve seen so much disappointment and despair — people losing jobs, health care, losing their homes, some people losing families.
“But the one thing we can’t lose is faith. With faith all things are possible, and we just have to keep believing in one another, keep believing in this country and working together to turn this around.”
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