By David Cruz & Imani Hall

As folks from a recent job fair filed out of DeWitt Clinton High School after some on-the-spot interviews with job recruiters, Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj stood by the exit extending a hand.

“How’d it go?” Gjonaj asked one Bronxite. “Any prospects?”

The job hunter nodded, leaving the job with potential callers from several of the two-dozen recruiters in the healthcare, business and law enforcement sectors. And even as Bronxites left with potential jobs, the sobering fact remained–very little Bronxites would land work immediately.

But Gjonaj told the Norwood News he intends to track just who received a job following the fair by surveying the type of sector the job fell in. He also wants to see what sectors remained stagnant.

“It does not end here,” said Gjonaj, the lead organizer of the job fair, the second annual.

The job fair comes amid Governor Cuomo’s Employment Strikeforce, an endeavor that intends to put a dent in the Bronx’s nagging jobless rate, which has consistently stood as the worst in the state. The latest figures compiled in May show the Bronx with a 10.6 percent jobless rate.

Gjonaj’s job fair is also aligned with Help Identify Real Employment, another state initiative that seeks to link Bronx residents with Bronx jobs while also providing Bronxites with more job training opportunities. The Bronx Chamber of Commerce will help oversee the program that was made possible by funds secured by Senate Jeff Klein in this year’s budget.

To Gjonaj, the severity of the problem has shown in the number of job fairs that have taken place since the spring. Another job fair took place in Co-Op City, ushering in thousands of applicants waiting in line.

“The evidence is there,” said Gjonaj, reflecting on the numbers.

Hundreds File Into Job Fair
But statistics aside, many at the July 10 job fair yearned for a better job to help prop up their lives. Many had jobs, though they were unsatisfied or underemployed. Some have been on the job hunt for two months, others eleven months. Bronx resident Dana Smalls recently graduated from Lehman College and has been out of work for two months.  People of all ages and from all corners of the Bronx came out to attend the job fair. The numbers were large–just two-hundred filed into the door at the start. By the end, the number had doubled.

“It can be depressing if you’re out seven or eight months,” she said. “My two months out I took as a vacation, but I need to get back to work.”

Other Bronxites grew impatient with their time off work, as bank accounts and help from family have thinned out. Gerald Mosby of Soundview worked security for 12 years before being laid off work. These days, Mosby has succumbed to desperation.

“Right now I’m looking for anything that will pay the bills,” said Mosby, who was the second person in line at the fair.

But Mosby’s expectations at the fair weren’t met, pointing out tables that peddled job training or more education over real jobs.

“These are classes they want you to take or money they want you to invest in their companies,” said Mosby, a married father of two. He stressed his need for a job and not an education at the moment. “I don’t need to go to school, I need to feed my family!”

Some Bronxites weren’t as anxious to find a job at the fair. Lanique Rhyne, a 19-year-old Bronx resident, attended the fair to seek a second job.

“I’m already working, but I wanted to see if I could get a different job so I could be more interactive with people,” Rhyne said.

Another prospective employee sees the job search experience as a type of conundrum–how can one find work when job recruiters need work experience?