Hundreds Turned Away For Miami Fire Dept. Jobs
MIAMI --
Hundreds of would-be firefighter applicants were turned away from the city's administration building in downtown Miami Monday night.
More than 1,000 showed up to the offices to apply for one of the 35 positions available. However, the city only accepted the first 750 applications.
The magic number was reached late Monday, as hundreds who stood in line for days had yet to hand in their application.
"Disappointment, anger, rage --- it's just a whole bunch of mixed emotions. It??s not right," said Miami resident Luis Rivera.
City of Miami Police officers were called in to keep an eye on the crowd.
The would-be applicants said there was no order or crowd control. They said some people were seen skipping the line altogether.
"They were letting people turn in three applications for their friends, so everybody was handing their applications to the people in front," said Alex Duran.
The crowd of people who waited for days to submit job applications with the City of Miami Fire Department provided a clear picture of the state of unemployment in South Florida.
Estimates said 1,000 people waited in line, some of whom camped outside of the City of Miami Administration building all weekend, for a chance to apply for just a few dozen openings in the next firefighter training class.
"They should hand out tickets, make this thing organized. Where's the port-a-potty? There's nothing out here for crowds like this," said hopeful applicant Ivan Chavez.
"People are hard up for jobs and this is a great job," said Anna Sade, who arrived on Saturday to make sure her application was one of the 750.
The government public service job comes with a starting salary in the upper-$40,000 range, along with good benefits, a pension and stability.
"We were not expecting this many people," said city of Miami Human Resources Director Hector Mirabile.
Florida's unemployment statistics are the grimmest in recent history.
According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, unemployment in Florida jumped to more than 8 percent last month, more than 750,000 people.
With mortgages to pay, cars to gas up, mouths to feed and dwindling savings, some are getting desperate.
"I have never seen it like this. These are scary times," said Victoria Villalba, who owns a Doral-based career services company.
Villalba's clients are companies and employers looking to fill positions, a supply of openings currently far short of the demand.
"Job fairs are great networking opportunities. They're a great way to meet prospective employers, practice interviews," said Villalba. "The employers might not have an opening or opportunity next week, but maybe two months from now."
Many on line said the waiting was worth their time and effort.
"It's one of those things. You have to take every opportunity when it comes. It's well worth it to spend the whole day here," said applicant Poly Batista.
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