A job fair being held in London for a Mitchell meat processor only attracted a modest number of applicants for an estimated 40 full-time positions.
Great Lakes Specialty Meats held the job fair at Fanshawe College's campus at Citi Plaza, but the turnout was not what many expected given upcoming layoffs at agri-food companies Cargill and Kellogg and closures in Huron County.
Among 60 or so people applying was former Ford worker Matt Marko who says he's not picky, he just needs a paycheque.
"I've been out of work for two years now and it's pretty rough trying to find a job. At one time I was trying to find a specific type of job but now I'm trying to grasp...whatever I can find."
Karen Kloibhofer of Fanshawe Employment Services says "It's nice to see that the quality of the candidates that are coming in too, they're very specific for the type of work that they're offering."
The positions being advertised included full-time work with health and dental benefits and wages ranging from $13 to $17 an hour.
The company says it may hire again in the fall.
Understanding low turnout
One Western University economist says we should be less concerned about London's jobless rate and more concerned about the employment rate.
Statistics Canada says as of December, a little more than half of the working-age population was actually employed.
Audra Bowlus, an economics professor at Western, says "It does show sort of the direness of the situation."
She adds that many employable people have simply given up looking for work and those who are willing to apply for modest-paying out-of-town jobs have probably exhausted their options.
"As people are unemployed for a longer and longer period of time, they become less picky and they search in a wider area for employment and I expect that Great Lakes is taking advantage of that by trying to run a job fair in London."
