Jan/100
Workers’ growing fear shows at job fair: A father who lost his job six months ago puts in two or three applications a day with no luck
AMANDA PALLESCHI
Of the Patriot-News
Look no further than Julio Portillo's application to work as a forklift operator at a temp agency for proof the economic recession is still here and its pain still felt in the midstate.
The hosts of the second job fair held this year in a Mechanicsburg church say there's less hope among job seekers amid the highest midstate unemployment rate in 26 years and recent layoffs at nearby employers such as Carlisle Tire & Wheel and Tyco Electronics.
Portillo, 35, a Mechanicsburg father of four, was one of 150 midstate residents to fill out job applications Monday:
"Can you lift 50 pounds?"
He can.
"Have you been charged with any crimes?"
Short of a 1999 traffic violation, he has not.
"Can you legally work in the United States?"
Portillo, a native of Honduras, has lived in the midstate for the last 10 years. His wife, who had a baby two months ago, is a U.S. citizen, and Julio Portillo has a visa to work here. He'd like to take his citizenship test but can't afford that in addition to rent payments, he said.
The Mexican restaurant where he'd been working in Harrisburg closed six months ago, and the two or three job applications he puts out daily have yielded a few interviews, but still no job.
"It's frustrating," he said. "This is the first time I've had this sort of trouble. When I came here in 1999, I'd apply and they'd call me back that same day."
Monday's job fair was the second the Rev. Brian Rosenbaum has held this year at Mechanicsburg's Why? at the Well, a youth community center affiliated with Landmark Baptist Church.
In March, Rosenbaum got 17 midstate employers with open positions advertised in the classifieds to set up booths in the gym of the church. About 120 people came to the fair, which began as part of Rosenbaum's outreach to local youths. Instead of the high school dropouts he'd expected, he found many adults in the Mechanicsburg area needing both work and the free meal the fair provided.
This time, the numbers and many of the employers were the same. By the end of the day, 150 people turned out to speak with 16 employers. The difference five months later was largely emotional: People are more fearful.
"They hear that unemployment is bad all over," said Mike Griffiths, who came to Monday's fair as a volunteer and representative for the UPS booth.
Recent job losses and plant closings nearby, such as the July relocation of more than 340 jobs at Carlisle Tire & Wheel, have people nervous and less hopeful than March's job seekers, Griffiths said.
"Before it was like, who cares what's going on in Texas or in California? But people are starting to see more of it around here. They hear that unemployment is bad all over."
Portillo, who also attended March's Why? at the Well job fair, said he was hopeful he'd get calls back from employers this time. They'll have to call his brother-in-law to reach him. The phone company shut off Portillo's phone recently because he was unable to pay the bills.
INFOBOX:
Jobless rates
7.6% Harrisburg-Carlisle area in July
8.6% Pennsylvania in August.
9.7% Nationwide in August.
