Despite the claims that the unemployment rate has decreased in New York City, it became more than clear to residents of the Bronx that unemployment is still at an all time high. The Bronx still holds the highest unemployment rate out of any borough.
In the afternoon of Tuesday, July 1, nearly a thousand people lined up to enter a job fair for the new Bay Plaza Mall, which will open in August. The fair was held inside the Dreiser Loop Community Center. Among the hundreds of people that showed up, my brother, a friend and I waited in scorching heat for two hours just to enter the community center. After a couple of people fainted while waiting, those in charge of the job fair decided to finally start handing out water bottles to the people.
The shock of witnessing hundreds and hundreds of Bronx residents lined up for the job fair had everyone talking including by-passers who stopped to take pictures. Others were waiting in line like myself who, although already employed, also showed up for a chance to get a second job. Among those already employed the story was the same, our current employers are simply not giving us enough hours to make ends meet.
