Friends Kesha Calhoun, left, and Kristin Merritt, both of Detroit, were hired by Burger King at the Cobo job fair. (Clarence Tabb Jr. / The Detroit News)
DETROIT -- They came in crisp suits and skirts or blue jeans and T-shirts.
They filed through the doors and waited patiently in a long line inside Cobo Center, clinging to briefcases, resumes and hope. They came from different career backgrounds and with varying levels of job experience, but they all had one thing in common: They were hungry for work.
More than 6,000 people attended Careers for Tomorrow, an education and employment fair, Thursday at Cobo Center. Sponsored by the city of Detroit, the fair showcased more than 130 public and private employers, including state and local government agencies, the armed forces, health care institutions and familiar names like Charley's Grille and Little Caesars.
In a state where the unemployment rate is 11.6 percent -- the highest in the nation -- crowded job fairs are not unusual. More than 700 workers attended one in Wayne on Wednesday and it wasn't even advertised.
"I'd rather be working than wait for a severance check or a government check to arrive," said Tom O'Connor, as he stood in line to talk to a representative from Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Ltd. in Detroit.
O'Connor joined the ranks of the unemployed two weeks ago after his employer, an industrial distribution company, downsized, leaving him without a job.
The 41-year-old Novi man has wasted no time looking for another one; he's been to two job fairs already and hopes he can find work soon.
About 200 job seekers stopped by the Dearborn Police Department's table in the first two hours.
Dearborn Police Cpl. Dan Bartok said the department has seven vacancies for full-time officers and will have more openings in the future due to retirement. "We're seeing a lot of qualified applicants and college grads," he said. "It's a good opportunity to explore different job opportunities."
Within two hours of the fair's 10 a.m. opening, at least 50 people had stopped by Nu-Way Truck Drivers Training Centers to talk to Dave Neidhart, an administrator, about job possibilities. Neidhart said he was pleased with the selection of job candidates.
"They're all eager to work, which is the most important thing," he said, adding that last year the company placed 2,000 drivers in jobs with an annual starting salary of $40,000.
George O'Neal of Detroit has been unemployed for a year since the publishing company he worked for closed. He hasn't been able to find another job and he's getting increasingly worried because the pool of unemployed workers is growing and the number of jobs is shrinking.
"It's not going so well," he said, while waiting in line in the lobby to get inside Cobo.
Kimberly Cook, 25, patiently waited in a line at the Greektown Hotel and Casino to fill out an application. She lost her job with a cleaning company at Detroit Metropolitan Airport two months ago, but she was optimistic.
"It's really tough out there," said Cook of Detroit. "I'm looking for a job in management or whatever they have. I'm feeling really positive so I know everything is going to be all right."
You can reach Jennifer Youssef at (313) 222-2319 or jyoussef@detnews.com">jyoussef@detnews.com.
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