FROED One Government Center Fall River, MA 02722-7700 Tel 508-324-2620 Fax 508-677-2840 info@froed.org		JOBLESS RATE REVERSES DIRECTION The Herald News, Wednesday, November 25, 2009 - Page A1 Fall River - After hitting 15 percent in September, the city’s unemployment rate dropped last month, but nonseasonal job options remain hard to come by. While the state saw its jobless rate drop for the first time in more than two years from 9.3 percent to 8.4 percent, Fall River’s unemployment rate dropped from 15 to 14.2 percent, still third in the state behind Lawrence at 17.3 percent and New Bedford at 14.2 percent. According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, there were 6,291 unemployed people in the city in October, 344 fewer than in September. Joseph Viana, director of the Fall River Career Center, said the city’s situation is similar to that of others across the region. The economy is taking its toll as people continue to search for jobs, with steady traffic at the career center as residents filter in for unemployment services, skills training, job search assistance and other services. Viana reported just 219 new positions available in October - a drop of 21 compared to September - but November is showing improvement, with 289 jobs coming through the center so far with one week to go. “Fall River Distribution, a manufacturing company, has posted 100 job openings with us. We are still working with Bank of America to recruit call center and customer service positions, and On Process Technology just came in with 11 new positions for their first shift,” said Viana. “Our job developers say many of the companies are looking for only part-time help and people with more experience. It’s still a very competitive job market out there.” Swansea resident Edward Szargowicz, 53, knows all about employers looking for just part-time help. Szargowicz has been laid off twice in the last year, once as a project manager for Andritz in Walpole last Nov. 25 and then on Sept. 4 as a mechanical designer and stocker at a Middletown, R.I., company. Both companies eliminated his position. “Many companies are looking for people for just 30, 60, or 90 days, basically to save on the benefits. It all comes down to costs. You just have to find the job that’s right for you,” said Szargowicz, who is married with two sons, 21 and 22. “The career center has been my home away from home, and people that aren’t using these resources are missing out. It’s because of them that I am now going back to school to get my master’s degree in electrical engineering.” Szargowicz has gone on two interviews since September, both time he made it to the final two, only to lose out to the other person both times. But he continues to put himself out there until the right job comes along. “The big key is in finding a position that is a right fit for you, I am lucky to have the support of my family behind me; it makes all the difference,” said Szargowicz. “If the job I was after wasn’t meant to be, then there will be one that will be. There will be other opportunities. The one thing the (career center’s) Job Club has taught us is to stay positive, because attitude is everything.” One success story came in the form of 30-year-old Fall River resident Sonya Ponte, who was hired as a full-time accountant Monday after sending out nearly three dozen job applications and sitting though 15 interviews. Finding the position on Craiglist as an accountant at a firm in New Bedford, Ponte went for her interview Monday morning and was hired a few hours later. But it wasn’t before suffering through four months of disappointment since being laid off in July. “I always left the interviews I had with a good feeling that I would get a phone call within the next couple of days, but the phone call never came. You just have to keep going,” said Ponte. “Even last week, I was crying my eyeballs out. But the secret here is you have to be persistent. When you are unemployed you are not on vacation. Looking for job becomes your full-time job. There are so many resources available to use, so many Web sites to help you find what you want. You have to make the most of your time.” Back