Quest for a job brings hundreds to Modesto job fair

The unemployment rate in Stanislaus County is 16.9 percent. But that number doesn't really tell the story.

To get the true picture of the depth of joblessness in the county and throughout the Northern San Joaquin Valley, all anyone needed to do was head over to a job fair Wednesday at Modesto Centre Plaza.

What they would have seen before the doors opened for the noon to 4 p.m. event was a line of job seekers that snaked across the plaza, down K Street and around the corner along 11th Street.

Several hundred people filed into the free event — sponsored by Channels 3 and 58, Citadel Broadcasting and the California Job Journal — in search of a job, any job.

"In this economy it's tough ... ," said Josh Heredia of Turlock, who has been unemployed since November. "I've just got to find something."

He found himself on the other side of the table Wednesday as he worked the room. "I was the one who used to come to these things looking for people to hire," said Heredia, who worked for FedEx for four years as a recruiter.

Besides representatives from the military, law enforcement and training schools, there were only a half-dozen private employers at the event.

"It's kind of what I expected," Heredia said. "You're not going to get a job today. But you've got to get out and see what's out there. I've been spending a lot of time at home on the computer, checking job sites and sending out résumés."

The same is true for Phil Loretelli of Modesto.

Unemployed for a year, Loretelli also is checking Web sites, newspaper ads and anything else he can think of to find work. That's what brought him Wednesday.

"I'm trying everything I can think of," he said. "I'm looking for anything. You don't know how bad it is until it stares you in the face."

Also disappointed by the lack of private employers at the event, Loretelli agreed that it probably reflected the lack of jobs. "I wish there were more opportunities here. ... I just have to keep looking."

The job search also isn't over for Cathy Hamlin of Modesto.

She arrived Wednesday hoping to get some one-on-one time with prospective employers so they could put a face with her name, and she could separate herself from the crowd.

With years of experience in marketing and project management, Hamlin said it's tough in today's high-tech job market to break through the electronic screening processes most companies use.

Unemployed for eight months since having back surgery, Hamlin said she returned to the job market after recovering to find it had collapsed.

Although she wants to stay in the valley, she's been widening her job search as the months have rolled by.

"I have applied for some jobs I'm overqualified for — I probably shouldn't say that — but that's what's available," she said. "I want to work."

That desire to work was a common theme for those attending the job fair. And while their searches didn't end Wednesday, Heredia, Loretelli, Hamlin and many others insist they aren't giving up.

Bee business editor David W. Hill can be reached at dhill@modbee.com or 578-2336.