By Billy Davis

The annual job fair coming to Batesville next week is coming to a county where unemployment still hovers in double digits.

The latest figures available, from May, show 2,020 people were out of work, giving Panola County an 11.8 percent unemployment. (See unemployment story, page A3.)

It was the same way last year, too, when The Panolian reported a certified welder and a laid-off casino worker, among several others, snatched up job offers on the floor of the Batesville Civic Center.

Such promising stories are poised to happen again — and again — next Thursday, too, said job fair director Adam Todd.

“Someone can walk in to the job fair and walk out with a job offer,” said Todd, who is heading the Governor’s Job Fair Network after Joe Buckner, the longtime director, retired.

The Northwest Job Fair will begin at 9 a.m. July 14 at the civic center, marking its seventh year in Batesville.

The job fair is free for job seekers though employers pay a $150 fee to set up a booth and interview hundreds of applicants.

Todd said 44 employers had signed up for the job fair this week, which is about the same number as last year.

Manufacturers and industries that have signed up include GE Aviation, Toyota, Winchester, ACI Building Systems, RR Donnelly, TG Missouri Corporation, Windsor Foods, Schulz Xtruded Products, and Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding.

Lowe’s and the Carlisle Corporation, which owns a chain of Wendy’s restaurants, are among familiar names seeking employees.

The names of participating employers is listed on Web site for the Governor’s Job Fair Network at www.jobfairs.ms.gov.

Todd advised applicants to come prepared with a resume and to “look sharp” for an on-the-spot interview.
He also noted that the WIN Job Center in Batesville can help job seekers prepare a resume for the job fair.