Prospects start to pick up at job fair

EVERETT — The scene at Everett Community College’s job fair played out like a round of haphazard speed dating — at each table a potential match.

More often than not, the stars didn’t align though. The Everett Police Department didn’t need a data analyst. The Everett School District needed teaching assistants, but only those with the right background.

But at least there were openings, job seekers said Thursday. At least there were applications to fill out.

After a long and fruitless job search, some said that was a positive sign.

“I’ve been unemployed for almost a year and a half since I graduated from college,” said Lydia Devine of Everett, who studied psychology at Western Washington University. “I hear a lot about how businesses aren’t hiring.”

As she stood in a 20-person line to talk to representatives from Providence Health Services on Thursday, she said she thought things were finally looking up.

Nationwide, there were bright spots in an otherwise overcast job market Thursday. The number of newly laid-off workers filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to its lowest level since early January, as layoffs eased a bit amid early signs of an economic recovery.

The fourth drop in new claims in five weeks is a sign the labor market is slowly healing. But employers are reluctant to hire new workers and the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing well into next year.

The Labor Department said Thursday that new claims for unemployment insurance dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000, better than analysts expected and down from 554,000 the previous week.

“The downtrend in claims is encouraging and points to continued, albeit gradual, improvement in the labor market,” Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a note to clients.

That seemed to be the consensus Thursday at the Everett job fair, a semi-annual event that’s seen more job seekers and fewer employers lately.

Leona Casteel, seeking commission-based sales representatives for Pre-Paid Legal Services, said she’d heard a lot of disheartening stories from applicants.

“A lot of them have been laid off, and I can relate to them,” she said.

Back in the line for the Providence Health Services booth, applicants were hopeful — but patience with the job hunt was wearing thin.

Eyeing the woman behind the table, Providence-hopeful Donna Ellis said: “I’m just hoping she’s in human resources so I can talk to her directly.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Read Amy Rolph’s small-business blog at www.heraldnet.com/TheStorefront. Contact her at 425-339-3029 or arolph@heraldnet.com.