Va. Rep. Cantor Reaches Out to Jobless

The Ravens Nest Coffee Shop is a microcosm of life in Culpeper, Virginia. These days with unemployment high, it's not hard to find someone looking for work.

Tony Jordan retired, but then his wife lost her job.

"I've been looking to get part time work while my wife has not been working. I don't see anything I can get. So I don't see a lot out there," Jordan said of his job prospects.

Everyday, more and more people continue to lose their jobs. Unemployment across the country is in double digits and finding work again is proving difficult.

On Monday, Virginia Congressman Eric Cantor (R-VA, 7th District), took on the unemployment battle by hosting a job fair in Culpeper. In this county of 46,000, jobs are scarce.

"I'm applying everywhere I can," Muhammad Aasim said.

He lost his job in the financial sector back in September and came to the job fair at Germanna Community College. He spoke briefly with the Republican Whip, but isn't confident of finding work. Out of the 76 jobs he applied for online, only two he says have responded back. Some of those same companies are here.

Like many here, his situation is dire.

"I'm under foreclosure on my house. I was laid off and I have no choice. I have two boys and a girl," Aasim said.

His wife stays home with the boys, 2 and 4 years old, along with their 2-month-old daughter.

About 700 people showed up for the job fair, and many lined up outside before the doors opened. Almost half the 47 employers at the fair are government agencies, and the rest are from the private sector. Some of the unemployed wonder where all the jobs created by the billions of dollars in economic stimulus money are. Rep. Cantor, who voted against the stimulus, called it an "utter failure."

With so many people having difficulty getting back to work, Cantor says, "I think that the message delivered is maybe more government more debt doesn't produce the benefit that you had hoped."

He favors small business incentives to create jobs. Absent that, he hopes this job fair will be its own job stimulus.

"The ultimate mission here is to get people back to work," Rep. Cantor said.

At the booth for the Culpeper Baptist Retirement Community, the company had up to 10 jobs available. It's not nearly enough for all those who apply.

"It's very difficult because I try to put myself in their position and I understand it's the holidays and you want to work, you want to provide for your family," said Kate Decker, who works in human resources for the company.

Many of the unemployed are finding the competition for jobs even tougher. In this recession, even those with college degrees are out of work, which makes it harder for those without the academic credentials.

"I've managed restaurants, I've answered telephones, been a receptionist, done typing work and I've been a laborer driving a rock truck," said Virginia Carter, a Culpeper mother.

She's been out of work for a year, since having her foot crushed on the job and, now she's forced to switch careers.

Back at the Ravens Nest, Jordan remains optimistic.

"My son-in-law got laid off a couple months ago and just got a new job Friday," Jordan told us.

In six months, he hopes his wife can say the same.