Unemployed Want to Know Where the Jobs Are

Unemployed Want To Know Where The Jobs Are - News Story - WSB Atlanta.flv

ATLANTA -- An event April 2nd allowed people struggling to find work to share their frustrations.  Dozens of organizations, including Atlanta 9to5 hope to help them do something about it.  Two state Senators came to listen.  A panel of unemployed workers' testimonies opened the program, followed by an open mic for participants.  Their biggest question: Where are the jobs? 

Dozens of people gathered inside Trinity United Methodist Church to share their frustrations.  Marilynn Winn, a 9to5 member, lost her job after the temp agency she worked for was sold.  She said it will be hard to find another one. “I’m a woman of color, I have a high school education,” Winn said.  She also said she spent time in prison for theft. 

Tobin Brittian has another problem. “I have a family, so benefits is one of my big issues,” Brittian said.  What the participants share is a desire to work and an inability to find it.  One of the speakers said it's, “not because we're lazy, not because we don’t want to work, but because there’s no work for us to do.” 

Most the crowd were men but there were a few women.  Some women had their children with them.  “I know the economy’s tough. It does look like it’s starting to turn and I guess our message is to tell people to keep hope,” said Charlie Flemming President of the Atlanta/North Georgia Labor Council, AFL-CIO.  Georgia’s unemployment rate is slowly improving, but numbers released this week said it’s still more than 10% higher than the national average.  “Hopefully things will get better soon,” Brittian said.  The event allowed people to get help with their resumes, food stamps and legal assistance.