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Job Seekers Overrun SNHU

By Tim Callahan- News Editor

An estimated 10,000 people flooded SNHU on April 9th in hopes of finding a job at the Project Economy Job Fair sponsored by WMUR.

Job hopefuls took shuttles from the Mall of New Hampshire to SNHU to potentially obtain one of the 1,500 jobs available.  The Union Leader reports that the 150 employers present ranged from government agencies to businesses like Burger King and Wal-Mart.    

WMUR promoted the job fair vigorously, only expecting about 3,000 to 5,000 people to attend.  However, the local news station seemed to be too effective in its advertising, as double its initial estimate attended.  With this mass influx of people, traffic became congested in Manchester and around campus.  The fieldhouse had to restrict the number of people inside since it was approaching its 2,500 person limit.  Although the job fair was intended to run until 3 p.m., the university was forced to turn people away who weren't already either on a shuttle or on campus by about 12:30 p.m.   

Wrapping around Larkin Field, lines of generally patient, well-dressed people provided a spectacle for students walking through campus.  Mark Hennessy, a sophomore at SNHU, said, "I couldn't believe how many people were on campus."    Hennessy continued, "I think it showed how bad the economy is, and there just aren't enough jobs to go around."  Indeed, the sheer amount of people at the job fair was indicative of the current economic woes.  

For one day, the campus was effectively crippled by the lack of jobs available.  The seemingly endless lines provided a stronger social commentary than stock prices or statistics ever could.