New Yorkers scramble for jobs

Thousands queue at the jobs fair

		By Joseph Winter BBC News Online correspondent in New York

The scale of the rebuilding task facing New York after the 11 September attacks was highlighted when more than 10,000 people swamped a jobs fair intended for economic victims of the disaster.

People from all walks of New York life braved the cold October winds in the hope of finding a job at the Twin Towers Job Expo, organised by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's office.

The queues outside Madison Square Garden on Wednesday were longer than those witnessed at even the most prestigious sporting event.

I can't afford to go into a corner and sulk, that's why I came along here

Investment banker Talisha Butler

At one point, the entire building was encircled and the queue began spiralling around the block for a second time.

The massive turn-out took organisers by surprise and in the mid-afternoon, thousands still lining up outside were told to go home because by the time they had reached the front, the fair would have closed.

Elderly Hispanic women who spoke no English looking for work as cleaners lined up next to smart ex-Wall Street types with briefcases and mobile phones, all united in their determination to find work.

Bad to worse

Many said they were already unemployed before the attacks on the World Trade Center, which made an already bad economic situation in the United States far worse.

But a large number were from the financial and catering sectors which have born the brunt of business cutbacks in the past five weeks.

Just two days after being laid off from her job as an investment banker, Talisha Butler told BBC News Online: "I can't afford to go into a corner and sulk, that's why I came along here."

Thousands braved the cold hoping to find work

She said there would have been some redundancies at the major international bank where she worked anyway, but the loss of business since 11 September meant even more people had to go.

Despite spending four hours in the queue, Ms Butler was not disheartened: "I'm sure I'll find something. I have a lot to offer."

Isabel Silva had been employed at a cleaning agency not far from the World Trade Center. The agency now has very little work and Ms Silva is looking for any job she can find.

In a rare quiet spot among the throngs of job-seekers, waiter Johnny Perez said he was not optimistic that the fair would help him find work.

He was one of 10 waiters laid off from his Manhattan restaurant because so many New Yorkers had stopped eating out.

Finance and IT busy

"There are just too many people here. I left my resume [curriculum vitae] and I'll see if they call," he said despondently.

Nearby, desperate people hurriedly filled in piles of application forms, while others used a row of computers to search for jobs on the internet.

At the start of the day nearly 200 companies, ranging from Jewish elderly care homes to IBM and the US Army, were offering about 10,000 jobs.

The busiest stalls were the few from the financial and information technology sectors.

The internet was available for those looking for work

Accountants Ernst & Young and Citibank had lines of eager applicants hoping to be taken on.

But one sales manager with six vacancies said he had been unable to make a single job offer.

"I just can't employ someone as a salesperson unless they have experience. All I'm getting is IT people," said Dominic Hawkins from the medical company Americhoice.

"Looking at all those people makes me grateful to have a job," he said.

As I left, a middle-aged Asian man approached the Americhoice stall.

"IT?" enquired Mr Hawkins.

"Yes," he replied hopefully, while my heart sank, knowing what would come next.

"I'm sorry."

Companies cautious

Just a few months ago, John Gessler was a successful man, running his own financial IT management consultancy.

"But since 11 September, everything just stopped," he said. So he was now looking for the security of a job.

Mr Gessler, a portly, clean-shaven 30-something in a suit, had handed out several copies of his curriculum vitae but had the impression that companies were being cautious about taking on new staff.

"I'm definitely worried. If I don't have a job by Thanksgiving [22 November] I'll be out of work until next year," he said.

Mat Higgins, from Mayor Giuliani's office, told BBC News Online that the job fair had been a great success, with a sample of 40 companies hiring 435 people in the first two hours alone.

But with anywhere between 10,000 and 80,000 jobs lost in New York since 11 September and thousands more already unemployed, this is just a drop in the ocean.

The Twin Towers Job Expo has helped maybe hundreds of people restart their lives after the terror attacks, but in New York at the moment there are simply too many people chasing too few jobs.