BC-GA—Federal Job Fair, 2nd Ld-Writethru,0222

Federal job fair lures 2,000 in downtown Atlanta

Eds: ADDS photo numbers. `Tyft’ in 7th graph is cq.

AP Photos GAATJ101-102.

ATLANTA (AP) — More than 2,000 people lined up around the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center in downtown for a federal job fair on Wednesday.

About two dozen federal agencies offered information and fliers.

Atlanta police estimated the crowd numbered at least 2,000. It snaked around the city block surrounding the building.

No hiring or interviewing took place, and officials could not say how many jobs are available.

Gene Williams, 26, a former shoe salesman, drove in from Savannah, some 220 miles away, for the fair.

“I need a job,” Williams said. “I went to school; it was a waste of money. I’m now in debt because of my student loans. Nobody’s hiring.”

Nadine Tyft, 58, is an independent project management consultant from Atlanta. “I’m here to find some kind of employment,” she said. “The market dried up. I have no work. So essentially, I’m unemployed.”

Neither Williams nor Tyft made it inside the fair before it closed at 2 p.m.

The Atlanta Federal Executive Board helped organize the job fair. The agency’s executive director, Gwendolyn Campbell, walked down the line to tell people waiting that they might not get in.

She said the agency likely will plan another fair because of the large turnout.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com