FERRIDAY, La. &045; Job seekers outnumbered the jobs being sought at Monday’s job fair in Ferriday, but evacuees staying in the area said they were glad for the opportunity to meet with prospective employers.

&uot;I just need to get a job,&uot; evacuee Desiree Clark said. &uot;Most of these places said they don’t have much, but I have to try.&uot;

Set up by Louisiana Workforce Investment Board and local chambers of commerce, the fair provided a forum for evacuees to meet with companies, talk about opportunities and in some cases fill out applications for work on the spot.

&uot;We’ve had a pretty good turnout today,&uot; said Carl Marks, workforce coordinator for the Area 60 Workforce Investment Board. &uot;We have employers from Natchez, Ferriday, Jonesville and Vidalia.&uot;

A steady stream of evacuees

&045; parked cars took up both sides of one block outside &045; filtered through the old seventh-grade school on Florida Avenue where the fair was held.

Clark filled out applications at several tables, including Burger King and Dollar General, and got information from several other businesses.

In all, more than a dozen local employers &045; from banks to retail stores to construction &045; were at the fair. The workforce board and Louisiana Technical College had information about opportunities for job seekers.

Dollar General Regional Manager Kat Breaux said her business is looking to hire new employees.

&uot;We do have positions. We’re looking for management, for cashiers, a little of everything,&uot; Breaux said. &uot;We have positions all over Louisiana we’re looking for. Some of these people are going to have to relocate anyway because there’s no going back for a while.&uot;

Ronald Cousin, an evacuee from Slidell, La., said he’s looking for a job here so he can relocate to the Miss-Lou permanently. Cousin was a custodian for a local school district there and has applied for a position with the Concordia Parish school board.

&uot;We’re supposed to go back to work (today), but there’s nothing left of our house,&uot; Cousin said. &uot;I want to stay here if I can get a job.&uot;

That sentiment was popular at the fair, with many evacuees looking to relocate permanently.

For Marks, this is getting to be old hat. His office has conducted job fairs for evacuees across a large swath of Louisiana, including ones at Marksville and Jena. Another is in the planning stages for Winnfield, La.