With today's sluggish economy and Nevada's unemployment rate the highest in 14 years, finding a job isn't easy. But dozens of businesses from around the valley say they need people and are ready to hire.

The job fair started at 1 p.m. and is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. Eyewitness News saw a steady stream of job seekers coming in all day.

People had different reasons for why they were there, but one thing they all agree on is that these are tough times for many.

It was a line many have no choice but to wait in — some lifelong Las Vegas residents while others were newcomers.

“I actually just moved to Nevada seven days ago from Oregon. I live in Henderson, and I am looking for a job,” said Laura Stevens. She has her bachelors degree, and moved to the valley because of the better job opportunities here.

“It's pretty tough. It was worse in Oregon. The job market is probably every one for 1,000 people,” she said. She came prepared today.

“My resume, my college transcript, proof that I live here now, and all my reference information,” she said. Once inside, she didn't waste any time in filling out applications and talking to potential employers.

Neither did Justin Clark. The 31-year-old says he hopes his years of experience gives him the advantage over the hundreds of others there.

“The economy is bad right now. People are moving to find a second job, a third job, or just that one job that will make things positive to the negative,” he said.

So far so good for him. “Everybody is receptive, handing me cards left and right, applications, resumes – I got three for tomorrow. I'm doing well,” he said.

For both Clark and Stevens, it's now just the waiting the game, and holding out hope for a job soon.

Email your comments to Reporter Chris Saldana.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 6:57 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.