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Thurston County’s unemployment fell to 8.1 percent in July from a revised 8.3 percent rate in June, while Pierce County’s rate fell to 9.6 percent last month from a revised 9.7 percent rate in June, according to data released this week by the state Employment Security Department.
Seasonally adjusted statewide unemployment rose to 9.3 percent in July.
Still, the downward trend in South Sound jobless rates didn’t deter hundreds from participating in a job fair organized by Nationwidejobfairs.com, an Olympia company that also has offices in Las Vegas and Houston, President Chris Dugan said. The 7-year-old business organizes about 200 job fairs a year throughout the country, including about 18 in Washington, he said. The business emphasizes hiring for customer service, sales and administrative jobs, Dugan said.
Job seeker lines formed quickly on the first floor of the hotel for the three-hour job fair and then about five job seekers at a time were allowed into a room to meet with prospective employers.
Meetings with employers were staggered so that job seekers had a little extra one-on-one time with the employer representative, Dugan said. Some of the employers in attendance were Verizon Wireless, Affiliated Computer Services, a company that operates an in-bound call center in Lacey; retailer Victoria’s Secret and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Dugan said the demand for talent is low in a slower economy, but the supply is high in South Sound as well as nationally. There has been steady growth in retail and insurance jobs, but challenges in industries such as engineering and construction, which are not hiring, he said.
Job seekers in this economy also represent a cross-section of ages, not just older workers, Dugan said.
Coleen Welt, 45, of Bremerton, has been looking for work since November after she lost her security guard job. Wednesday’s job fair was her sixth, Welt said. She has looked throughout Western Washington and is willing to take a job out of state. Meanwhile, she’s been living on jobless benefits, trying to stretch the dollar just as far as it will go.
“A luxury is ordering a pizza,” she said.
Things might be looking up for Welt, though. She recently received her master’s degree in accounting and financial management – something she started work on last August – and said that the FBI was looking for forensic accountants.
Promesa Garcia, 18, of Olympia, was busy filling out an application for Victoria’s Secret, hoping to find a job that would offer her more hours than she currently receives as a sales representative with another employer. Garcia said the job challenge since graduating from high school is that prospective employers rarely call her back, or she finds herself competing with people with more experience.
Wednesday’s job fair was her first, she said.
Richard Easter, 41, of DuPont recently retired from a 20-year career in the Army, his final two years spent at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He has been looking for work for two months and has attended five job fairs. Easter worked as an intelligence analyst in the military and hopes to find something in management or that involves training, although he said most job fairs typically offer entry-level or sales positions, two things he’s not interested in, he said. Still, Easter said he’s “not panicking yet” about his job search.
Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/bizblog
