The HIREvent organizers didn't want to name names on the firms that pulled out, but they do say that the economic concerns in Washington and also on Wall Street contributed to the no show.
At noon there was a line of people waiting for the San Jose job fair to open its doors. The resumes ranged from recent college graduates to seasoned professionals.
"Fifteen years experience and five college degrees and I'm going to De Anza to improve my skills," said John Fox, an unemployed software test engineer.
Beyond the ties and smiles, no one here is sugarcoating the stubborn double digit unemployment rate.
"I've been on the market for two months now and it looks pretty bleak to tell you the truth," said Rodney Esperanza, a job seeker.
Another drop in the Dow is the latest threat for many, no job and retirement savings that are evaporating.
"It's very depressing especially with the ups and downs that's been happening in the stock market within the last few days," said Michael Lee, a job seeker.
Recent economic turmoil seems to be translating into even fewer job opportunities. Ten companies are represented at this job fair, but two un-named firms canceled and others simply reconsidered.
"They kind of freeze and they look at it as a lot of uncertainty and they just hold back and do nothing," said Kathy Caricato, the Job Journal job fair coordinator.
The companies that are hiring know they are the exception. Konica Minolta Business Solutions has four sales openings.
"We are actually adding more staff right now, and so I think we are a little unusual in that way, we are having a lot of success," said Andrew Stych, a Konica Minolta sales manager.
Of the 200 jobs available at this HIREvent, some are highly specialized.
"The bilingual Japanese applications engineer position has been open for quite some time," said MaDonna Williams, form EBARA Technologies, Inc.
Larry Lin hopes to be one of the job fair success stories. He just graduated with a masters in electrical engineering from USC and got a nibble from Silicon Valley tech company Cadence. He thinks there might be a possible interview coming his way.
Silicon Valley's unemployment rate of 10.3 percent is certainly better than the overall state-wide average of nearly 12 percent, but the job seekers and the economists are obviously concerned on any pullback in hiring.
If you missed Wednesday's HIREvent, you can join us next month.
Free HIREvents Job Fair
Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.
South San Francisco Conference Center
255 South Airport Boulevard
South San Francisco, CA
1-888-THE-JOBS
