Career Centers Report More Interest From Recruiters

MEMPHIS, TN – There are more jobs available in the Mid-South. Some career centers report seeing a slight increase in the number of companies looking to hire. A new White House report credits the president's economic stimulus plan with creating, or saving, more than 600,000 jobs. But plenty of people are still looking for work.
Searching for work is a full-time job for Janice Sims.

"I'm a hardworking person,” said Sims, who lost her job last month and is looking for work as a caregiver or counselor for abused children. “I just graduated from Phoenix Home, I'm also waiting for them to call me, and no one has called me.”

Chauntay Jones, an employment specialist with the Tennessee Career Center, has seen the job hunt get a little easier for some people who come to the career center.

“Maybe a month or two ago we had more companies that were placing job orders with us, so it is picking up in that aspect,” Jones said.

She said it's hard to tell whether the president's economic stimulus plan played a role, and she wonders whether Memphis is seeing any of the jobs the White House attributes to the stimulus.

“You do have some of your major companies that are doing a lot of hiring, but it’s not that dent that’s being put in there to say that we are coming out of the recession,” she said.

She said the job market for people who want to work in health care is strong.

“Your health occupations are going to pick up a little bit more, we've gotten a few job orders in reference to that,” she said.

Sims hopes that will hold true in her case. She hopes to find permanent work before the holidays.

"It's hard, like I said no one called me for a job, so I might not even have Thanksgiving dinner at home this year,” she said.

But Jones believes there is good news ahead. Her office typically sees a hiring increase at the beginning of the year.



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