Demire Lee sat anxiously in the corridor waiting for her job interview to begin.
“Ms. Lee?” the employer from Hospitality Services Group said as she poked her head out the door. With a warm smile and no resume, Lee entered the room. Less than 20 minutes later Lee emerged from the room as the newest hire for Hospitality Services Group.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my resume but she said she liked my personality,” Lee said. “I came here hoping for the best and now I start orientation for my new job (Wednesday).”
Lee was one of the hundreds of patrons attending the State of Indiana’s Indiana Manpower and Comprehensive Training (IMPACT) job fair Tuesday in Gary.
IMPACT is a program administered by Indiana’s Division of Family Resources that help recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) prepare for and search for employment. But this job fair was open to the public.
“We work with those that are receiving benefits from the state, such as food stamps and Medicaid,” Carolyn Shotwell, Business Service Representative for IMPACT and coordinator of the job fair, said. “But our biggest thing is employment,” she said. More than 15 companies attended the job fair looking for employers including Methodist Hospital, Majestic Star Casino, Speedway, Albanese Candy Factory, Luke, Franciscan Communities and Geminus.
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“That’s what really drove me here was the diversity of companies that were here actually hiring,” Beverly Jones, of Gary, said. Shotwell said that her goal is to have people leaving the fair with jobs.
“I don’t want anybody just leaving with information and business cards,” she said. “The only information I want them leaving with is the day of their second interview or the day they start.”
Deandre Sledge, of Gary, said this is the third month in a row he’s attended a job fair but he’s determined to get a job.
“I’m not working right now but that doesn’t get me down,” he said. “I figured if I come to a job fair that’ll increases my chances of getting a job. I have a daughter so finding a job is pretty important.”
Sledge is one of the several thousand Lake County residents that are facing the daily struggles of unemployment.
Lake County has a 6 percent unemployment rate, the highest among Indiana’s 92 counties, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“That’s why getting people employed is so important to me,” Shotwell said. “The numbers don’t lie.”
Indiana’s unemployment rate has steadily declined throughout the year. In September, Indiana’s unemployment rate slid nearly half a percentage point to 4.2 percent, which is lower than the national average of 4.8 percent.
Indiana added more than 11,033 jobs in September. The state’s August unemployment rate was 4.6 percent.
Despite a slight decrease in the Indiana’s jobless rate, cities within the county continue to have alarming unemployment statistics.
In cities and municipalities with a population over 25,000 Gary, East Chicago and Merrillville has the highest unemployment rate in the state, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Gary is ranked No. 1 in the state with an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, followed by East Chicago at 8.6 percent and Merrillville at 6.5 percent.
With Lake County reporting the highest unemployment in the state, Shotwell said it’s her duty to help remedy the problem.
“I’m putting my heart and soul into this,” she said. “We see the need of IMPACT. There’s generational poverty, people who were never told how to be successful and go to college. Most of them were never given that option.”
Shotwell added that she loves seeing the effort and persistence of the people attending the job fair.
“When I look outside and see a line waiting to come in that makes me happy,” she said. “That means they want it, they got up this morning, dusted themselves off wanting to change their lives.”
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