Being happy with the turn out Fudge also stressed the importance of follow up. She knows having a job fair is the start, but follow up makes it happen.

By JAMES W. WADE III

Staff Reporter

An estimated 7,000 people attended a “For the People Job Fair” hosted by Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge Monday at Cleveland State University. More than 100 employers with 2,500 jobs were on hand taking resumes and applications for various jobs.

The latest unemployment figures show employers added 117,000 new jobs in July. However, the jobless rate among African Americans in urban districts like Fudge's is still in double figures at 16 percent.

By 10 a.m. they had already registered over 500 people and the line continued to stretch down East 21^st. The line began forming at 4:30 a.m. “The biggest obstacle to our nation's prosperity right now is the lack of jobs,” Fudge said. “I want to give the people of my district the opportunity to get back to work.”

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus who came to Cleveland in support of Fudge’s job fair included Rep. G.K. Butterfield from North Carolina, Rep. Andre Carson from Indiana, Rep. Bennie Thompson from Mississippi and Rep. Maxine Waters from California.

“It's kind of a double edged sword,” said 11th District Congresswoman Fudge, I'm excited about all of the people who've come out to try to find work, but I'm also on the other side of it, almost depressed about the number of people who have come out.”

Cleveland and Fudge was the first to be host to a series of job fairs in conjunction with the Congressional Black Caucus and to address the crisis of unemployment in our nation.

Michelle Rose and Carmen Foster stood in line for 2 hours before getting inside to register for the job fair. They came with enough resumes to last the afternoon. “I'm very confident I will find a job. I think some of these employers are being truthful and want to hire us,” said Rose.

Following the job fair, Rep. Fudge was joined by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus for a town hall meeting. They discussed legislation to create jobs and how to stimulate the economy.

The panel consisted of the Honorable Shaun Donovan, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II from Kansas City, the chair of the Black Caucus, Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee from Houston, Rep. Laura Richardson from California, Rep. Andre Carson from Indiana, Rep. Maxine Waters from California, and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Local MSNBC contributor Jeff Johnson served as the moderator.

The panel discussed everything from jobs to the debt ceiling situation in Washington and shared with the audience some other projects they are working on for the future to better assist people. “Everybody talks about jobs, we're doing something about jobs,” Fudge said.

The jobs featured at the fair were at all skill levels and in a broad range of employment sectors, including manufacturing, health care, service, retail, hospitality and the public sector.

Various companies that participated in the fair were Aflac, Bank of America, Breaking Chains Inc., Charter One Bank, Farmers Insurance Group, Fifth Third Bank, First Merit, H&R Block, Huntington National Bank, JP Morgan Chase, KeyBank, Ohio Savings Bank, PNC Bank, Primerica, Progressive Insurance, United Credit Card Company, Nordstrom, Orlando Baking Co., Pizza Hut, Popeyes Chicken, Rite Aid Corporation, Speedway, Target, The Lube Stop, Inc, Verizon, and Cleveland’s biggest employer the Cleveland Clinic, to name a few.

“The turn-out at the Job Fair was impressive. The sight of so many people waiting patiently in line for hours was both amazing and cause for reflection. It was a powerful testament to the need for jobs in our community. I am grateful to the more than 100 employers who participated. I will continue to do whatever I can to help people connect with employers who are hiring and promote policies that focus on what our stalled economy needs to grow again; first and foremost that means creating new jobs that put even more Americans back to work,” said Congresswoman Fudge.

Being happy with the turn out Fudge also stressed the importance of follow up. She knows having a job fair is the start, but follow up makes it happen.

Congresswoman Fudge was the first to host The Congressional Black Caucus's Job Fair for the people. Others will follow in Detroit, Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles.