Articles

Originally published in: WUSA 9

Fired federal workers arrived at George Washington Middle School in Alexandria on Saturday, looking for their next career. A job fair hosted by Virginia Congressman Don Beyer featured more than 40 employers ready to hire now.

They expected a few hundred job seekers to show up, but instead, thousands came looking for their next step.

"I think it tells you just how many people have been impacted by cuts already, or how many people are fearful that cuts may be coming to their positions," said City of Alexandria Mayor Aliya Gaskins. "That’s huge for Alexandria, where we have over 16,000 residents who are federal workers."

Everyone at the job fair, like Marianne Carliez, wished they didn’t have to be.

“I’m this far away from cleaning houses so I can pay my mortgage," said Carliez, whose career in foreign aid was cut short in January when federal cuts began. “It’s been 25 years of working hard, and I miss working. That’s just, that’s all I want. I want to work.”

Beyer organized the job fair for Carliez and the thousands of people in a similar situation.

“They’re going to land on their feet, and we just need to help them get that next good job that hopefully will last the rest of their lives," he said.

Landing the next job can be frustrating. Carliez says the number of people looking for work, like her, is massive.

"It’s tough times, very tough times," she said. "The American dream is turning into the American nightmare.”

The employers at this job fair are ready to hire right now, and most of the roughly 2,000 people who attended are ready to get hired immediately.

“I am considering things that I never would have thought I would consider," said Carliez. "Working for Metro, working for firms that do defense. Yes, I’m open to anything. I want a job. I’m ready to work seven days a week, ten-hour days. I just need a paycheck, and I just want to be working again. This is not me. Being without a job has never happened to me in my entire life.”

Carliez isn’t alone, and Congressman Beyer says these job fairs will continue until the need is gone.

"It wasn’t very long ago that Northern Virginia had a 1% unemployment rate. I heard it’s at about 7.5% right now, so we have a lot of people to serve," he said.