Thousands Attend Cummings' Annual Job Fair
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- As thousands of Marylanders are out of work, many of them hoped to find a job Monday at a city career fair.
Andrea Fujii explains more than 70 companies were offering hundreds of positions.
Out of work for nearly 10 months, Elton Dubose is looking for a nursing position.
"I've been looking the whole time and it's been so hard to find anything," said Dubose, unemployed.
He's one of thousands of job seekers at Congressman Elijah Cummings' annual job fair.
"The question here is whether we can match the jobs with people who have the skills," said Cummings.
The national economy has added jobs for six straight months, but there are still thousands of Marylanders out of work. According to the Maryland Department of Labor, the state's unemployment rate was 7.3 percent in February.
In the city, one out of every 10 residents didn't have job.
Some job seekers like Nashia Sutherland are employed, but want to upgrade.
"It's really hard because I have two jobs and I have a 4-year-old daughter, so it's hard," said Nashia Sutherland.
Experts say since the medical field is growing, the unemployed must be flexible.
"People have got to be retrained. Maybe the construction worker now has to go back to community college or college and become a nurse," said Cummings.
Dubose says having a positive attitude is a must.
"I'm just going to keep looking, I'm not finished," said Dubose.
This is the 15th year for this job fair.
