Record Turnout at Job Fair Shows Residents Hope and Hunger for Jobs

See Washington Post coverage of the Job Fair.

August 9, 2011

WASHINGTON, DC - The Office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) said today that 4,121 District of Columbia residents came out to Congresswoman Norton's Annual Job Fair, almost twice as many as last year, and found more than 100 employers and many services, including a Department of Employment Services (DOES) mobile van that offered one-on-one reviews of resumes, an opportunity for residents to sit in front of laptops to learn how to find jobs online, and offered 15-minute workshops on "how to maximize your job fair experience." Residents waited patiently in line for blood pressure, glucose, and HIV/AIDS testing at what became a "Jobs Plus Fair."

"We are always pleased to see a high turn-out at our job fairs, but this year's crowd, which began lining up at 7:30 a.m. for an 11:00 a.m. job fair, brought us a share of heartbreak," Norton said. "Coming out of the debt ceiling debacle, the cuts-only debt ceiling bill, and the deepest market plunge in years, I feared that residents would be disheartened. Instead, we found people grateful to know that there are jobs here and to have the chance to speak to a real person in today's job market where job search is done almost exclusively online."

Norton said that the high unemployment rate in D.C. has not disheartened residents. Their confidence in the U.S. economy is a lot higher than Standard & Poor's she said. "The hope and hunger for jobs in D.C. is an indication that Congress should be inspired and get around to job growth when it reconvenes."