JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The new numbers are out, and they aren't good. "It's hard out here. It's really, really hard," said Andrew Jaus. Andrew has been looking for a new job for the past two years with no luck.
"Lights, water, things start to pile up. You got to find a way to make some kind of money to keep ahead. And there is no way to keep ahead in this economy right now," he said.
That's why when he heard only 80,000 people around the country found a new job last month, he wasn't surprised. "I am still looking for work. And companies that are able to hire are not hiring," said Jaus.
This is the third straight month of weak hiring keeping the nations unemployment at 8.2 percent. Analysts say at least 120,000 jobs need to be created every month for the unemployment rate to drop.
"We are seeing a lot of the same trends that we see nationally here," said Vice President of Communications for Worksource, Candace Moody.
One-third of the jobs added last month were in temporary services. And Candace said many companies here are doing the same instead of hiring new employees.
"There's a lot of uncertainty politically, overseas, and here financially. We just aren't out of the woods yet. Companies are just reluctant to hire," said Moody.
Andrew Jaus says this isn't what he wants to hear, but it isn't stopping him. "Keep trying, keep trying. Something has got to open up," he said.
There is some good news. The average hourly rate went up six-cents to $23.50 an hour.
