The TimesLedger Newspapers staff wishes our readers a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hopefully, this holiday will find you and your family gathered around the table safe and warm. As always, our hearts go out to those families with a member serving our country overseas and those facing hard times because of the economy.
For our part, we are grateful to count you as a loyal reader.
A Sign of the Times
A job fair held at the Aqueduct Casino last week speaks volumes about the economic crisis this city is facing. It was estimated that more than 3,000 people lined up at the event sponsored by state Sen. Joseph Addabbo.
Officially, the city jobless rate is 9.3 percent, but that does not count the thousands of people who have already exhausted their unemployment benefits. Most experts say the real number is far worse. John Williams, the founder of Shadow Government Statistics, claims that, accounting for long-term unemployment, the number is closer to 22 percent, not far from the 25 percent unemployment of the Great Depression.
Some 125 employers showed up at Aqueduct to look for people to fill about 1,200 positions. Resorts World New York, which claims it will create some 800 jobs when it opens a casino at the racetrack next year, was present but not taking job applications yet.
Just days after the job fair the mayor announced that the city will be laying off thousands of employees.
One of the attendees who has been out of work for nearly a year was thankful to Addabbo but expressed a frustration shared by many. She has applied for dozens of positions without getting so much as a callback.
For the new Congress and new state Legislature, the unemployment problem should be the most urgent matter when they convene in January. The line at Aqueduct last week should serve as evidence that unemployment has not bottomed out. Those who say the nation or state has turned the corner on this problem are fooling themselves.
This is the third job fair this year that was sponsored by Addabbo’s office and he deserves credit for recognizing the depth of the unemployment problem.
But job fairs are just the beginning.
