Community | August 19, 2011 | 10 comments

Thousands Camp Out for Job Fair as Jobless Rate Rises

source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/thousands-show-job-fair-jobless-rate-rises/story?id=14336519

Vic_Romano
by JULIE NA, ABC News
Aug. 18, 2011

Thousands of unemployed waited overnight, camping out in their business suits and office heels and braving the tormenting heat in Atlanta to stand in line for a job fair Thursday. Authorities treated 20 people for heat exhaustion as they struggled to keep the line moving and get people moved inside.

The incredible turnout at the job fair comes on the heels of the state labor commissioner's announcement that Georgia's jobless rate rose.

The state unemployment rate increased to 10.1 percent in July from the 9.9 percent in June. The unemployment rate for African-Americans stands at 15.9 percent, far above the national rate of 9.1 percent.

July marks the 48th consecutive month that Georgia has exceeded the national unemployment rate.

The line was full of hopefuls who waited for hours in a line that wrapped around the Atlanta Technical College where the event was held.

The For the People Jobs Initiative, hosted by U.S. Reps. John Lewis and Hank Johnson and sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus, is a series of job fairs and town halls at some of the urban areas hit hardest by unemployment and the financial crisis.

The enormous turnout in Georgia created miles of traffic that clogged southwest Atlanta.
  1. groups:
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  2. tags:
    Unemployment,  Atlanta
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10 comments // Thousands Camp Out for Job Fair as Jobless Rate Rises

  • faye59
    • 0
      faye59  

    • As the line for jobs lengthen the lines for those free clinics rise also. What's sad is that these corporations are still laying people off . I truly hope that Congress doesn't waste much more time before passing some of those jobs bills out of committee, unscrupulous houndpuppies.

    • 9 months ago
  • warman1138
  • faye59
    • 0
      faye59  
    • warman1138:

      If this goes on much longer things are only going to get worse. I cannot believe that Cantor and Boehner got on tv telling Obama not to ask for more stimulus money. They have no compassion for anyone.Does anyone know someone who can run against either of these heartless clowns?

    • 9 months ago
  • grammabet
  • letsliveinpeace
  • wynnmeg61
    • +3
      wynnmeg61  

    • How much do the Corporatists and Professional Political classes really think that the masses can take before there are widespread riots in the USA? When you starve and beat an animal even the most passive animal will become viscious in the name of survival. Man is the most dangerous animal on the planet. With the middle-class rapidly declining into poverty the numbers of desperate people are rising rather dramatically. They are going to push it so far that they will end up seeing a real live-action teaparty, and I really don't believe the upper-classes can survive the wrath of huge numbers of rage-driven masses.

    • 9 months ago
  • letsliveinpeace
  • Vic_Romano
  • letsliveinpeace
  • faye59
    • 0
      faye59  
    • Vic_Romano:

      Did you see Rep. West's brother ? He said his brother told him to go to the job fair. How ironic after the things he said about the CBC. I admire them cause they used their down time to host those job fairs. I wish other elected officials would at least pretend to be concerned.

    • 9 months ago
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