Desperate for work, WNC residents flock to regional jobs fair
People once again lined up at the Biltmore Square Mall in Asheville last week, but this time they weren't waiting for hours to see Santa Claus. Instead, they were looking for a belated Christmas gift — a job.
The mall was the site of the largest job fair in the mountains, boasting more than 1,200 open positions. About 2,000 people showed up for the event, most of them members of the 10 percent of unemployed residents of North Carolina.
An older gentleman in a grey three-piece suit looked overwhelmed as he surveyed the seemingly never-ending rows of employers and possible employees that filled a vast majority of the mall.
Barbara Darby, who helped run the event put on by the Asheville Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Coalition, said she was not surprised by the turnout.
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"We are well aware of the large numbers looking for work," said Darby, a member of the Mountain Area Workforce Development Board.
People traveled from all around Western North Carolina — Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain, Yancey, Madison, Polk — in search of a job or a better opportunity.
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"There are really no county lines when it comes to finding jobs," said Mark Clasby, executive director of Haywood County's Economic Development Commission. "People will really commute where the jobs are."
About 15 percent of Haywood County residents travel outside the county to work, Clasby said, and at least 3,000 people commute into Haywood County for work.
The dismal job market has forced some unemployed individuals to move.
During the past year, Tonya Turner, 40, packed up her belongings and moved from Haywood County to a place in Mars Hill with her son. She is looking for "a new start," she said.
Turner has been jobless for a year and has applied for more than 20 jobs during that time. She is looking for a position as a receptionist or in medical billing and has experience as an administrative employee.
The Potential Hires
While many participants put a face and a name on WNC's more than 8 percent unemployment rate, a number of people with current jobs attended the fair looking for better benefits or for a second or third job to help pay their bills. Some proactively applied for positions, knowing they might soon receive a pink slip.
"It's time to find me something better," said Josh Grooms, a 23-year-old Canton resident.
Grooms works for a roofing company in Fletcher, near Asheville, but the benefits do not include health insurance — a costly bill to foot on one's own.
He was hopeful, however, that he would find a new job at the fair.
"They have plenty of decent jobs out here," Grooms said.
There was no age, social class or race that predominated the fair. Quickly glancing around, anyone could spot a teenager or young 20-something as well as people well into their 50s and 60s. The dress code ranged from jeans, T-shirts and boots to suits and ties.
Terry Gant — one of the baseball hat, T-shirt and jeans people — said he was looking for "anything."
The Haywood County resident is a former employee of Volvo Construction Equipment.
The Volvo plant in Asheville closed in March 2010 and shifted its operations to some of the company's other manufacturing facilities around the world.
The move left Gant and 227 other people without jobs. Gant, 46, said he hasn't worked since.
"I am just ready to get back to work," he said.
Gant has not been sitting on the sidelines waiting, however. He went back to community college and will soon have his associate's degree in industrial systems technology. The degree, plus his welding and electrical experience, will make Gant much more marketable and increase his chances of getting a job.
Like Gant, Darren and Melinda Sims, also causalities of the Volvo plant closure, decided to return to school. The out-of-work couple from Fairview won't graduate until next year but knowing the trouble they will likely face, wanted to get a head start on the job search. Darren, 41, wants to finds a job in industrial systems, and Melinda, 40, is looking for an administrative position.
A noble effort
On the outskirts of the melee at the mall were applicants such as Ken Childers from the Whittier area in Jackson County, who was filling out packets and reading information collected along the employment trail.
Childers worked at a steel mill for 27 years before starting his own trucking company in 2005 — just two years before the recession began. He was not able to sustain his business as diesel prices skyrocketed up to $4.75 a gallon in 2007.
The National Bureau of Economic Research, a private, nonprofit research group, marked the start of the recession as December 2007. And although the group declared the downturn over as of June 2009, the U.S. is still beset with high unemployment rates and fears of a double-dip recession.
"It's tough out there," said Childers, 55. "You almost have to have two jobs today."
Similar to many fair attendees, Childers is looking for anything he can get. He is even willing to move from his family's 100-year-old farm for a job.
Childers was somewhat pessimistic about the prospect of finding something at the fair, saying there's a "lot of people for them to choose from."
The Employers
Many area businesses are wary of the economy and are only adding one or two jobs at a time.
"I think businesses are very cautious," Clasby said. But, "The economy is slowly improving overall."
With such slow growth, the addition of 35 jobs at Sonoco Plastics in Waynesville is considered a boom. In the past, that number would have been considered low.
"That is kind of a big number all of the sudden," Clasby said. "That's not the norm unfortunately."
Sonoco, which makes plastic trays for frozen food dinners, was among the more than 80 employers at the job fair.
"We are excited to be growing," said Vanessa Crouch, human resources manager at the Waynesville plant. "It's an employer's market right now."
Because the country is still experiencing high rates of unemployment and few companies hiring, employers can be more selective with whom they hire.
Sonoco received 175 applications for seven recently filled positions, Crouch said. The company is hiring only a handful of new employees at a time so as not overload itself with trainees, she said.
Among the open positions are supervisory staff, quality technicians, maintenance personnel and packers.
Amidst the many Asheville area employees at the jobs fair was Mission Health, a healthcare provider with centers throughout WNC, including Angel Medical Center in Franklin.
As of the early afternoon, Gloria Perry, a hiring specialist with Mission Health, said "easily 300" people has already visited their table.
"It breaks your heart sometimes," said Perry, whose husband is actually unemployed. "Everybody's so desperate."
As of Monday, the Mission Hospital website listed 197 available full-time and part-time positions at its various facilities in Western North Carolina — a testament to the health care field as one of the largest and fastest growing sectors of the economy. The medical group's biggest need is certified nursing assistants, Perry said, later adding that she had met many displaced or soon-to-be-certified nursing assistants at the fair.
October 2011 unemployment rates
Haywood County 8.6 percent
Jackson County 8 percent
Macon County 9.6 percent
Swain County 12 percent
Source: N.C. Employment Security Commission. October is the most recent month for which data is available.
