By John Howell Sr.

With the unemployment rate averaging over 15 percent in Panola and adjacent counties, the annual Northwest Mississippi Area Job Fair scheduled for July 15 should attract plenty of job seekers.

But what about employers with the jobs to offer them?

“I’ve really been impressed with the number of employers and the range of employers,” said Joe Buckner, director of the Governor’s Job Fair Network.

Buckner, meeting with job fair planning committee members in Batesville April 15, said he based his observation on the three job fairs the Mississippi Department of Employment Security has hosted to date in 2010.

“We’re now in the employer outreach,” Buckner said, describing the job fair’s present stage of planning during which employers are contacted and asked to participate. “It takes more work,” Buckner said, acknowledging work force reductions in recent months.

A job fair brings employers needing workers and workers seeking jobs to one location. Last year’s job fair in Batesville featured 48 employers and attracted approximately 1,200 job seekers.

“Over 500 job offers were made as a result of last year’s fair,” Buckner said.

Coordinating the sixth Northwest Mississippi Area Job Fair that Batesville has hosted is Mississippi Department of Employment Security employment interviewer Alice Rosemon, who has been with the agency since 1991.