Poorly Attended Job Fair Could Be A Sign Of Economic Recovery
By Pat Loeb
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) - A job fair in King of Prussia yesterday drew a light turn-out, in stark contrast to job fairs held four years ago at the height of the recession.
Job fairs are not on the list of leading economic indicators but they became a useful symbol in 2008 when they invariably drew long lines of job-seekers, so it was tempting to see the thin crowd as a sign of recovery. Tessa Raum was there for employer Beyond.com.
"I feel like the job market is starting to open up again. You're seeing a lot more jobs open, a lot more fields opening up, so you're starting to see people get jobs back, be able to go from more entry level to more of the field they were in before."
Lincoln Bittner of host National Career Fairs says results are improving, too.
"We've had a number of people come up to us today and say they found jobs, right here at the fair."
Job-seeker James Abraham didn't get hired but left feeling optimistic.
"It went well. I got a couple good leads and I'm looking forward to hearing from any one of them."
